#You could fic this as the same character or twins (one on each side of the law!) or random dopplegangers

[reallyromealone]

I need a SMILY FIC! Reader is the male version of Jessica Rabbit, and Smiley is his Rodger Rabbit. But nobody believes Smiley is married to the reader because they think he (the reader) is way out of Smiley's league. But it's Nahoya's sense of humor that won the readers heart.

Title: wifey

Fandom: Tokyo revengers

Characters: Tokyo revengers ensemble

Fic type: fluff

Pairings: smiley x reader, Draken x Emma, takemichi x Hina, hanma x kisaki

Warnings: male reader, reader insert, fluff, reader is tall, suggestive themes, mentions of threesomes

Notes:

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Smiley was a surprisingly private individual, he kept his shit to himself and so it was a surprise to everyone that he was not only in a relationship but engaged to one of the hottest person they ever saw.

(Name) Was a bombshell, the wet dreams of wet dreams.

"You are not engaged to him" Baji said simply and nahoya shrugged as he polished a glass at the bar area at the restaurant, him and Souya closing the shop for the day to have old Toman together for lunch "you are literally a gremlin! And he's like-- walking sex!"

"Keep getting bricked up for my fiance and I'm gonna kick your ass" smiley said coldly with a grin and Baji rolled his eyes "oi, Sanzu don't you deal with paranormal shit or whatever it is?"

"Parasocial and all the time, people think they know everything about me" he said simply as he sipped his sparkling water, Mikey nodding in agreement "I got people acting like they know exactly how I act... Real freaks"

"So delulu that he thinks he's with (name)" mitsuya picked up slang from his sister's and loved to use it much to the others groans.

"Keep acting like this and you're not invited to the wedding" smiley didn't have to wait to long though to prove his words true, (name) texting him that hes on his way with some snacks the pink haired man requested.

"Seriously, you're way to deme--"-- baby? They didn't have the chips you wanted so I opted for the second best thing" everyone turned to see (name) step in, the Haitani brothers awe struck and Draken surprisingly was the only one who believed smiley after all, how the fuck did Draken himself land Emma?

"Oh, 'hoya baby you didn't tell me you had company, I could have come at a later time" (name) was a fair bit taller than nahoya, from the looks he stood at the same height as hanma. Curves and an ass that could make a man drop, the married trio of pah, Draken and takemichi chatting amongst each other with no interest in the situation but the others... Smiley was about to break some fingers.

"Everyone, this is my fine as hell fiance! No we won't do threesomes so don't fucking ask!" (Name) Let smiley pull him to his side, the other kissing his cheek while he played with the hair at the nape of the older twins neck and smiled at Angry "I got you some gummy worms" he said calmly as he ignored the oggling from the others "it's a pleasure to meet Nahoyas friends, he's spoken of you all"

"Fondly I'm sure" kazutora said with a flirty grin and (name) tilted his head as he gazed into the others eyes "that's not the word I would use" (name) said simply as he watched the other struggle at (name)s naturally sultry gaze "how the fuck... Is this a thing" Kisaki said incredulously as Hanmas hand rested on the specticalled man's thigh, the boyfriends finding this fascinating yet strange.

Smiley was... Well smiley and (name) was sex incarnation.

"We met at a party and where everyone was trying to flirt... Hoya made me laugh" (name) said simply and nahoya looked SMUG as he let the other hold him close "why don't you head upstairs baby, I'll be up in a minute" Smiley sent (name) upstairs but not without a kiss that left (name)s (lipstick/lipgloss) on the others lips.

"You sure you aren't open to a threesome?" Mikey asked and smiley cracked his neck at that.

"Absolutely fucking not, you're not coming to the wedding"

[ivystoryweaver]

The Only One

Episode 8

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Summary: Your deepest, darkest secret is out. How will you handle this new attention? Who can get through to you? (I bet you can guess)

Pairing: Poe Dameron x female original character. Fic is written in second person, but the female "you" has a name (It reads basically the same as any other xreader)

Word Count: 2.1k

Content: nothing too intense - self-doubt, mild angst, slight injuries

PREVIOUSLY on "The Only One"...

Poe backed away, stunned, brushing bits of gravel from his face and hair. He thought to approach you, but stopped short at a miraculous sight.

Your hair had tumbled down, beautiful and wild, your eyes closed in concentration. Hands clenched by your sides, you held yourself still as bits of rock and earth circled you slowly.

And behind you, dark, slick wings unfurled.

As the Millennium Falcon raced to its safe destination, Poe gripped your hand tightly, through the slightest opening in the storage bay where you had hid yourself.

His thumb gently stroked yours, back and forth, steadily, reminding you to breathe in time with his ministrations.

In...out...in...and out.

"That's my girl," he would encouragingly whisper at various intervals, calmly caressing and encouraging you to breathe through each hiccup and gasp.

It was a miracle he'd got you this far. He thought he'd never get you onto this ship and off that forsaken salty rock called Crait.

Previously...

The ragtag remnant of the Resistance momentarily stopped, stunned by the vision of your dark wingspan and bits of rock circling your body.

Poe winced at the tiny scrapes littering his arms, where you had inadvertently flung gravel outward using the Force - his bare forearms the only shield for his face.

Everything that could be going wrong for a person like you was now careening off a cliff into utter disaster.

Your secret made itself known to everyone. Both secrets: the fact that you could wield the Force and the fact that you possessed demon wings.

Worse, everyone was staring at you, disbelievingly.

Worse still, there was no time for this. Kylo Ren and the First Order were surely mere minutes behind you all, following you through the hidden Rebel base in the mine.

Poe could hardly think of which fire to put out first, but he had to do something, before you panicked. You could not afford to have a panic attack right now - not with uncontrolled power such as yours. It would surely draw the wrong kind of attention - acting as a beacon for the First Order, impeding escape.

The Resistance would be finished once and for all, if you were found.

He started with your name, softly.

Your lip trembled at the sound of his voice.

Since the moment you sent rocks flying outward, you had yet to open your eyes.

"Ells," he repeated, with more urgency. "It's me. Can-can I touch your hand? Is that okay?"

Your chest heaved as reality began to take hold.

Poe ordered everyone onto the ship, hoping to disperse the crowd. Finn took notice and repeated Poe's command - the two of them realizing that Rey and Leia were sharing some sort of moment.

Something was wrong. Something greater than your display of power. You felt it too because your eyes snapped open.

"Oh no," you whispered, unable to understand that it was Master Skywalker's death rippling through the Force.

Thankfully, most everyone had boarded the Millennium Falcon by now, leaving Poe to reason with you. He nodded for Finn to join his comrades, and after concerned glances toward both you and Rey, he complied.

"Ells?" Poe repeated, reaching out for your hand. "It's just me. You okay? We have to get out of here. We have to board the ship."

Your eyes searched for Leia's. She met your gaze over Rey's shoulder during their embrace. You felt something in the Force - something painful, but you weren't strong enough to discern anything further - oblivious to the fact that Leia had just lost her twin brother.

It was then that you realized that Leia and Poe could now both see you for the demon you truly were, which made you automatically withdraw from Poe's reach.

"Come on, sweetheart," Poe coaxed, his dark eyebrows arched pleadingly. "Let's get you out of here - somewhere safe. Come on, I've got you. Just take my hand."

"No," you whispered, tears stinging your eyes. The metaphorical weight of hiding your true self combined with the literal weight of your newly unfurled wings felt like a millstone pulling you to the bottom of the deepest ocean.

Poe lowered his hand. "Come on, Ells. I won't touch you. I won't let anyone bother you. Let's go - we have to go."

You backed away, shaking your head vehemently. "No. Leave me. I'm...like them. I'm...wrong."

Poe did grip your hand then, commandingly, taking a gamble that you wouldn't freak out. That the foundation you'd built together as friends - as...hopefully more, would anchor you here - just long enough to get you on the ship.

"There's nothing wrong with you. And I'm not leaving you here," he fiercely proclaimed, trapping your hand in both of his and pulling it to his chest, urging you forward a stumbling step or two.

"No, Poe, I-I'll hurt you," you protested, breathlessly, although your body complied. "I did hurt you, like they did - like they tortured you - "

Poe squeezed your hand, touching his forehead to yours. "You're going to have to tear my arm off to keep me here. I'm not letting go, do you understand?"

Your breath trembled as you started to cry, but Poe forged ahead, appealing to your dutiful side. You seemed to take pride in following orders, performing your duties admirably. You weren't one for public accolades but a little one on one encouragement typically caused you to beam with pride.

"Get on the ship with me," he softly commanded, his breath ghosting your cheek. "That's an order."

You were nodding before you could think to protest. Something in you longed to please him - to be of use in the Resistance, even now.

Poe all but dragged you up the ramp of the Millennium Falcon - his heart shattering as you struggled to move naturally with your new wingspan - going so far as to bump one of them, causing you to hiss in pain...

...before your breath caught in your chest as you realized all over again that everyone could see the real you.

And they did stare.

"As you were," Poe ordered, waving them off. "Get to work." And he never let go of you until you were as far away from prying eyes as this crowded ship could afford.

...which is where you found yourself now, stowed in a small cargo bay with Poe's hold on your hand tender yet possessive.

His mind raced with fear -with terror, even, at how close or far behind the First Order loomed...if the remaining Resistance had even escaped unseen.

Despite many capable pilots, he yearned to be in the cockpit, in charge, or at least assisting the Jedi Rey. Which reminded him that something seemed dreadfully wrong between Rey and Leia. Poe shuddered to think of what had become of Master Skywalker.

But his duty right now was here, with you.

If he could keep you calm and breathing - if you could only make it to a safe destination - then he could help you. He could help everyone, after failing so utterly before.

But if you lashed out again, with your power - the consequences for everyone on board could be grave.

So he told you the same things over and over - to breathe, that you were safe, that everyone was safe, and the plan. Routine and reality were key for you. So he gave you everything safe and normal he could.

The Millennium Falcon touched down at a port off the beaten path, discreet, and free from First Order control. The plan was simply to refuel and gather any available supplies, including food, extra transports, fighters, ships or weapons.

Nearly every Resistance fighter dispersed as quickly and inconspicuously as possible to make this happen. Naturally, a small crew remained with the Falcon, making necessary repairs, refueling and guarding their only remaining transport.

This included the young Jedi Rey, who had grown rather attached to the ship, and, naturally, Chewbacca.

Poe found the two of you left mercifully alone for the moment. Your grip on his hand tightened to the point of pain and your eyes remained squeezed shut, as if you could keep the real world from invading your safe bubble.

"Elia...we're here. It's just you and me, okay?" Poe covered your joined hands with his free hand for good measure. "You're safe here. Say it."

Exhaling shakily, you nodded once. "I-I'm safe."

"That's right, sweetheart," he soothed, pulling your joined hands to the warmth of his chest. "We're safe, but we have to get some supplies. That's our mission. You're with me, okay? You report directly to me. Can you do that?"

"I...I can't hurt anyone," you gasped. "Need to stay right here." Fresh tears spilled out of your eyes at the pain surging through your cramped wings. You felt as safe as possible here, enclosed, with Poe to quietly reassure you, but the space was too small, in reality, for your...new body.

Poe blew out a tense breath, hoping like hell he was treating you in the way you needed - how you deserved. "I can let you stay here if you want, but first I need to know if you're hurt. I want you to tell me the truth."

You rocked back and forth a bit, trying to focus on the sound of his voice and the steady warmth of his hand - your touchstone.

Shit...Poe felt like he was losing you. Okay, new approach.

"Elia, tell me the supply list. We need to get it, but...I want make sure I don't forget anything. Tell me what's on the list," he gently directed, knowing you had that thing memorized top-to-bottom, inside-out. You could recite a great many lists and procedures verbatim, much to the slight annoyance of some of your colleagues.

But it was damn handy in a situation like this.

You answered immediately, opening your eyes and swiping at your tears with your free hand.

"Uhh...it-it's medkit, blasters, knives, rations, nav kit, thermal blanket, hooks, glowrods, stimpills..." You rattled off survival items, as well as supplies needed to restock, refuel and get to the next safe destination. By the time you finished, Poe was smiling tenderly at you, nodding encouragingly.

And by then, you were looking at him too. But, since eye contact was nearly impossible for you, your gaze wandered down to the scrapes and cuts on his forearms - the wounds caused by you.

"I'm so sorry," you whispered disbelievingly. "I'm the last person who should hurt you, Poe. You're my best friend."

"You're mine too," he soothed, reaching to trace the shape of your jaw, guiding your obsessive stare away from his cuts and back to his face. "You're hurt too. We need each other."

Your eyes darted away from his but you didn't flinch from his touch.

"I need you out there with me, Ells. Will you help me?"

Chancing a peek at his earth colored eyes, you felt, for a moment, as if he saw you - just you. Not your wings. Not your secrets, exposed, nor the danger you posed.

"I can get the supplies," you answered simply, allowing him to help you climb out of your hiding spot. Your wings provided a bit of a struggle, but Poe caught you by both arms as you stumbled into his.

As soon as you were steady, however, he backed away. "Sorry - you okay?"

You nodded, physically deflating as his eyes raked over the expanse of your wings. "Don't look at me," you uttered, all your fears exposed - a raw nerve.

Poe lowered his gaze, scrubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, you're just...you're beautiful."

"I'm not. I'm...not. I'm dangerous. I'm a demon. But I'm not that."

Smiling wistfully to himself, Poe remembered back to your first date. "You are to me, Ells."

He noticed how you automatically reached for your backpack straps - your soothing motion, but...your backpack was destroyed, leaving your hands empty and your lip trembling.

Poe surged forward, sliding his fingers through yours, inviting you, with a tender caress to weave your worries into his skin - to push and pull and tug until you felt grounded and safe. He showed you what to do, twisting his fingers around yours, dragging his fingertips up, and back down - the motion he'd memorized as you fiddled with your straps a thousand times before.

A thousand times he wished it was him you would touch - him you would trust and depend on.

"I've got you." His breath brushed your forehead as he drew your intertwined fingers, pulling you as close as he'd ever dared.

Your eyes drifted closed once more, but this time, in relief, instead of an attempt to anchor yourself. Pushing your fingers in and out of his strong hands, around, in the same pattern memorized by your fidgeting digits - Poe's touch familiar - his smooth skin like the frayed straps, contrasting the calloused hands of a warrior, stalwart in their support of the Resistance...and of you.

And for the first time, wings and all, you laid your head on his shoulder and pressed your body against his.

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[asoiafsworld]

STAND BY ME.

pairing; aemond targaryen x original female character (alysanne velaryon)

summary; alysanne velaryon, jacaerys velaryon's twin sister and daughter to queen rhaenyra targaryen, has been betrothed to aemond targaryen since she was a little girl and has loved him since then too. king viserys dies however and war breaks out between their families. when alysanne learns of her brother's death caused by the man she loves, she does the only right thing.

warnings; hotd 1x10 spoilers, mentions of stillbirth, mentions and descriptions of self harm, major character death, very sad and painful, alysanne has bad anger issues, and she has psychopathic tendencies, my oc is really a emotional rollercoaster, blood, violence, revenge, sad ending

author's note; this fic is very painful to read at times so i just want to warn once more and its not all about her relationship with aemond, theres a lot of stuff about alysanne with her family too. i was going to make this a reader imagine but i felt that an oc would suit this more since its so angsty and gets pretty violent, i hope u guys still enjoy <3 jacaerys and alysanne are aged up here and are both only two years younger than aemond (jace and alysanne are 18, aemond is 20) and alysanne referrs to daemon as her father but hes not. also i imagine a young jodie comer as alysanne but u can imagine whoever u want! and everything that is written in cursive is a flashback an anything that is only in bold is alysanne's thoughts!! pls tell me what u guys think

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"Shh! We need to be quiet!"

Aemond tried to look at her as sternly as possible but couldn't hold on to his giggle as she looked at him as apologetically and sweetly as she could. Before he could think any longer about how beautiful she looked as only the fire in the dungeons illuminated her face, he grabbed her hand and went further down the stairs to the underground room where the skull of Balerion the Black Dread was kept.

Alysanne gasped at the sight and was sure she had never seen a head this big from the dragons that lived still. She was small, a growing girl of four and ten and was definitely dwarfed even more as she stood in front of the skull of a creature that lived not too long ago.

"What a huge skull... He must have crushed people just by laying his head on them! Do you think Vhagar will be so big too one day?"

Aemond smiled at her and cupped her cheek with one hand, softly brushing his thumb over her temple.

"I know she will. And when she is that big, you will be in the skies with her, with me. Right by my side where you belong."

Alysanne smiled shyly, her cheeks red from how sweetly he was holding her and looking at her. She had liked Aemond for so long even though their families were so opposed to each other. To their luck, her grandfather, King Viserys announced on Aemond's eight nameday that they would be betrothed and no one else was delighted except the two of them. She remembered her mother pleading with her father to still wait and to not rush into betrothals and Queen Alicent had said the same but the King would hear none of it. He saw how the two of them spent most of their time with each other after all.

Aemond was closer to her now, his breath on her lips, his hand going from her cheek to holding the back of her head in place. His forehead found its place on hers and even though he had only one eye, it stared at her in intensity and adoration.

"You look beautiful like this... Just the fire that gives me a sight of your incredible, gorgeous face. How do I deserve a betrothed like you? Tell me, what Gods did I please for you to be mine?"

She blushed even more at his words, so sweet and unrelenting in making her see that she was the most beautiful woman that ever lived, in his eyes. She brought up her hand to his cheek, the one that bared his scar. She softly admired how brave it made him look, how it proved that he was the bravest warrior of them all with the scar to prove it.

"You deserve it by simply being you, Aemond. I am yours and you are mine and in due time, we will marry and it will be official. I will be yours as you are mine, now and always."

His heart clenched at her words and he pressed the softest of kisses on her lips, his touch as gentle as if he was holding a flower... His little flower, forever his.

Alysanne's heart feels as it's ripped apart in two. She is confused, she is angry, she is sad but does not know at what or whom. The gods are playing tricks on us, she thinks as she helps her mother in wrapping up her dead little sister. Cruel and selfish tricks.

It does not make sense to her, none of it. Her grandsire dies, the Greens crown a usurper and tell everyone a lie, that the King had wished for Aegon to be King in his last breath and Alysanne and her family sit at Dragonstone, unbeknownst of the horrors that were going on in the capital. She does not understand it, none of it. Does not understand why Aemond is letting them do this, letting them crown anyone else other than her mother... He could never marry Alysanne like this.

Her hands are covered in blood, in her dead sister's and mother's from the wrapping. She does not wish to wash it off, wants to keep it on her hands, fly to King's Landing at this moment and present her bloodied hands to the Queen Dowager and her father. Look at what you have done, she wants to scream. She wants to take the bundled up baby on the table and present it to them, make the bitch of a Queen look at it. Look at how you've killed my sister. My little Visenya.

"Alysanne." She hears her mother's voice clear up the fog of anger in her mind and wonders how many times she had called her already. The princess of eight and ten looks up at her mother and sees the grief and sorrow in her eyes but mostly concern. "My darling, do not let your anger take you over again, it is unneeded at this moment. Come, wash the blood of. We need to... do the burning."

"I do not wish to wash my blood off, mother. I want to smear it in her face and tell her that she deserves death for what she has done. Letting grandsire rot in his place for days before telling anyone he was even dead, killing my sister in cold blood and putting Aegon on the throne. She will pay for this... she will."

Rhaenyra knows she can say nothing to sway her mind at the moment, her only daughter's bloodlust and want for revenge mirroring something that Daemon would probably be proud of. She wonders when this happened, wonders when her own daughter became such a hardened woman, when the love she had for her family turned into protectiveness and when that turned into anger. No one except for Rhaenyra knows that everything Alysanne does is out of love for her family, not even Jacaerys who is the girl's own twin realizes this. She wonders if that anger will be reflected at Aemond too, the only person she holds any love for outside of her family. Alysanne has not uttered a single word of him ever since Rhaenys told them of what had happened.

Alysanne listens to her all the same because she could not be mad at her mother, the woman who loves her so much and lost everything. She may be a bloodthirsty, angry woman but she is still her mother's child, nothing changes that, ever. So she washes the blood off of herself, gets dressed in an all black dress and attends her sister's funeral. She stands next to her brothers and her face remains stone cold but a few tears slip past her cheeks as her sister's tiny, small body burns. She has to breathe in and out through her nose to control her emotions from overboiling and does not know what would happen if she could not control herself.

They stole my mother's crown and her throne. They stole her and my brother's birthright. They stole me of my sweet sister... And for that, the Hightowers will burn, she thinks. Otto, Alicent, Aegon. Otto, Alicent, Aegon. Otto, Alicent, Aegon.

She repeats their names in her head. She would not kill Helaena, the sister wife of the usurper had done no harm to her or her family, just like Aegon's children.

She does not think of Aemond, of what will happen to him, of what she will do about him... or what her father will do to him. She wonders if he's trying to find an excuse in his head for betraying her like this, if he tells himself that him and his brother will make sure her family will be gone before long and force her to marry him... But that is not Aemond's way.

She can not think of Aemond. She does not want to think of Aemond. She still loves Aemond.

They stood on opposing sides of the throne room, so close yet so far away. Aemond studied her closely, how much taller she had grown, how her beauty could not match that of a single lady in the Seven Kingdoms. The sun was she to him, feeling as if he could stand and live with her in his presence. The air was she to him, needing her to breathe and to calm himself down when his mind was plagued by his demons once more. Life was she to him, something worth fighting for and the sole reason he put up with her rather annoying family.

Alysanne could tell that her betrothed had eyes for no one but her, he was not listening to the Hand when he sat the throne, nor did he look away from her when the King marched up to his throne and settled matters. She only stole a few glances at him but had to hide her smile at the way he did not stop staring at her all the same. To him, none of what was happening mattered... He only cared about meeting his lovely betrothed again.

To her however, it was not so unimportant. Her brother's legitimacy was being questioned and ever since the accident at Driftmark where her brother had taken her betrothed's eye, tensions were as high as ever between the two families. She remembered that night, when she was called upon from her bed and had to look at her brothers' bloodied faces and wondered how foolish they could have been to do something like that. If she thought back on it, it was probably the moment that made her into the cold, hardened woman that she became over the years, realizing that no one but her family would be there for her, care for her and protect her... and she strived to do the same for them.

Aemond only ripped his eyes away from her when Daemon sliced Dark Sister through Vaemond, a move that shocked most people in the throne room. She was glad to see him gone and dead for calling her brothers bastards and her mother a whore... he deserved it.

Everyone in the throne room left as the matter was settled. Lucerys would inherit Driftmark as was his birthright and the young princess was glad of it because she would not have the Hightower snakes get their way, no matter what it was.

She had been told that the King had requested a dinner with the entire family and she wondered how well that would pass but Alysanne got ready for it nonetheless. She wore a beautiful black and red gown, accentuated with the dragon sigil of her mother's house that she had always been proud of. After the handmaidens had left, there was a knock on the door and when she turned around, it was Aemond entering through the door.

She looked at him with wide eyes and walked up to him, pulling him into the room by his arm and closing the doors before anyone else could see him. Her mind was reeling from where she had touched Aemond's skin and she hoped that the effect he had on her was not so apparent to him as she turned around. But Aemond clearly did not care for not showing his feelings as he caged her against the door, so close to her again like the first and last time they kissed. His hand came up to hold her chin and made her look up at him and oh, how the touch burned under his gentle fingers.

"Tell me, my little flower, has anything changed between us?" Alysanne knew that he did not wish to show his insecurity to her but it was reflected in his voice all the same, sounding scared of her feelings not being the same as they were before. She knew that he still very clearly felt just like four years ago when they had last seen each other, his love just as she always knew it... Resistant, powerful and undying.

"Well, I have changed in the years since we last met. I am a woman grown now, did you know? My nameday was a few moons ago. I have grown colder, harder and stronger in every way. It may be that even my heart has turned to ice for I do not wish for anyone in my company except the people I love." Alysanne leaned closer to him, their lips almost touching, the distance between them able to be closed in less than a second.

"But whatever part of my heart holds it's love for you has clearly not turned into ice... because I look at you and see you standing in front of me so closely, see you looking at me like you'll never love someone like you'll love me. And I realize that yes, I do love you still, have loved you for so many years and might never love anyone else except for you. I do not believe I could ever be with another man."

Aemond did not show it but she saw the relief take over his body, his shoulders releasing it's tension and he sighed deeply, closed his eye and leaned his forehead against hers. She placed a small, featherlight kiss on his lips and furrowed her eyebrows at how little it did to satisfy her. She tried to press her lips to his again but he held her back with a thumb on her lips and his eye opened again, looking at her with hunger and resistance.

"I wish to kiss you until you are breathless and beg me for more but we can not, my love. If we do, I could not stop and control myself from doing something so sinful that would have our mothers marry us swiftly in the sept tomorrow. Which of course, I would not oppose to but I shall not risk things with you. I want to do it properly, have a feast for us and have everyone in Westeros celebrate our union. With you, I will do things right. You deserve no less, my dragon."

Alysanne hated how her heart swelled at his words, hated how he spoke so gently and softly with her like he had when they were children. When she was a different woman, a girl still, she would have embraced and loved the way he made her feel and how he confessed his love for her and his wish to marry. But as it was, Alysanne was a changed woman and hated that she had so long ago fallen for a man that she was supposed to hate... One day, war would break out and they would be on opposite sides.

She did not have to think about it much longer as Aemond had to leave to get ready for the dinner himself. He pressed a small kiss to her lips that stirred things in her heart that she could not explain, a turmoil of emotions in her heart and mind after every word and every kiss of his lips. She composed herself and decided to visit her sickly grandsire since he had asked her to come see him before they would have dinner when she was there with her mother, father and siblings this morning.

Alysanne always had a special bond with King Viserys. It was widely known that Rhaenyra was his favorite child and that he loved her very dearly and therefore loved her grandchildren as well. When he held Jacaerys and Alysanne for the first time in his arms, he cried and blessed them both, her mother had told her. When she was a child and still lived in the Red Keep, she had often played with him, let him help her learn to read and write. It pained her to see him so weak and in pain but she would still go to see him, simply because she loved him so dearly.

She entered his chambers just as he had seemingly gotten ready dressing with the help of maids and servants. He seemed clearer in his state of mind than he was before, a crooked smile on his lips as he saw her entering. The maids and servants left them and Alysanne sat down next to her grandsire in front of the fire place. He looked at her lovingly and gently grabbed her hand, his grip weak but still full of adoration for his oldest granddaughter.

"My dearest Alysanne, my pride and joy. I know they say that we should not pick favorites, in children or grandchildren... but I think you know that I have loved you so much since you were placed in my arms, as if it was Rhaenyra put in my arms all over again. Because I love you so dearly, I need to ask you this and want to give you a choice, something that I sadly could not do for Rhaenyra."

The King spoke slowly but he still commanded presence even in his weakly state. Alysanne wanted to cry at how he looked, so breakable and ill, as if he could die at this very moment but she continued to listen to him attentively. He looked up with the one eye that was visible and she saw all the love he held for her, just like when she was a little girl.

"Alysanne, please be truthful when you answer me this. Do you love Aemond?"

Alysanne's breath hitched at the question and she felt a lump so heavy in her throat that the words would not come out at first. She knew that the only reason for his question was to possibly confirm a future marriage and maybe even set a loose date for a wedding and knew that if she said no, her grandfather would not hesitate in calling the marriage off. It was his hope for Alysanne to marry Aemond so that an inevitable conflict in the future could be avoided... besides that, Aemond had demanded since Alysanne's most recent nameday to plan the wedding. She knew that if she said no, her parents and brothers would be more than pleased and happy about it. She knew that if she said no, she could avoid having to live with the awful, other side of her family. She knew that if she said no, she would avoid the inner turmoil inside her that told her that she could not love, that she was too cold and unloving for marriage.

"Yes."

Alysanne knew of the dangers that would come if she said yes. She did it anyway.

Alysanne had claimed the Cannibal at the mere age of four and ten to everyone's great surprise. When her, Jace and her younger siblings were born, they had all received dragon eggs from Syrax as their mother wanted her children to have a lifelong bond with their dragons as well. Jace, Luke and Joffrey's eggs all hatched and all three of them, respectively, had Vermax, Arrax and Tyraxes as their bonded dragons. Alysanne's egg however had turned into stone when she was still a babe and in that entire time, Syrax did not hatch more eggs for the young princess to claim.

To be truthful, Alysanne did not care much for having a dragon. The bond and the care for a dragon was not something she deemed herself to have and having three brothers who rode dragons was surely enough in the family. However, after the incident at Driftmark, Alysanne changed her mind about it. She loved Aemond back then, knew he would not hurt her but him having Vhagar would make things difficult for her in the future, she knew that.

She had thought about claiming Sea Smoke whilst she was still at Driftmark then but knew that she needed a dragon that would match Vhagar not just in fiercness but in size. So when she was back at Dragonstone, she tried her luck first with Silverwing, the dragon that ironically belonged to her namesake once before and followed the advice of the Dragonkeepers at Dragonstone. Alysanne had tried to claim her in a duration of many moons but the Dragonkeepers deemed it a hopeless cause. She tried Vermithor next, the largest unclaimed dragon that had been ridden before by the Old King, Jaehaerys I. She tried to claim him for almost a year, sang to him in Valyrian as he liked it, didn't show her fear in front of him. The Dragonkeepers decided to observe her the last time that she went to tell her what she was doing wrong.

"You are too fierce for them, my princess. Dragons can feel our emotions, our feelings and our true ambitions and they bond with whoever they match best with. And I'm sorry to say it, my princess but you are simply too angry for them, even for Vermithor."

She was frustrated at that and wondered how she was ever supposed to have a dragon when she remembered the three wild dragons that still resided on Dragonstone that were never claimed by anyone. Surely, I must be angry enough for them, she thinks. One of them has to be as hateful and angry as me.

The first two wild dragons that she came across in the more abandoned areas of Dragonstone, Grey Ghost and Sheepstealer fled her as soon as she came closer, there was no real chance at getting close to them which disappointed her greatly. She was in all seriousness not considering to approach the Cannibal so she just wanted to leave the dragon be that was feasting on a poor animal just in her line of sight. The beast however had other plans for her, letting off of the dead animal and focusing on her and coming closer at a speed that she did not expect. He stopped right in front of her and his eyes studied her closely, circling her from left to right as if asessing if she was worth to be eaten. She was not scared however and only looked him in his eyes bravely. After a few more minutes, he stopped and gave her a nudge with its big head. From that day on, she understood what was meant with that bond, knew that he had assessed her and let her claim him because she matched his anger

The Cannibal was overall the second largest dragon that still lived but the size difference between this dragon and Vhagar was so small that most people assumed that they were the same size. Besides, the Cannibal was suprisingly quick, in the sky and on the ground which was an advantage against Vhagar who, due to her oldness, had become rather slow.

Neverthless, it was a miracle that the beast had accepted Alysanne as it's first ever rider, Alysanne, who was only four and ten and still a tiny girl, rode the second largest dragon in the world and a wild dragon at that, the first one to tame it. She was of course scolded greatly for it by her mother but Daemon could only look at her proudly.

It was ironic, really. Alysanne was scolded all night by her mother who kept asking her why she did it, why she was so obsessed with having a dragon, one that was impossible to claim and terrifying as well. To prepare for war, she thought. To prepare for a war to defend you and my family. A war I have been preparing for since I was a child.

Holding council is truly a dreadful thing. Counting out who would support their side, who would hold honor their oaths given to her mother many years ago and which dragons could fight for their side.

"My prince, we may be in the lead with dragons but Prince Aemond still possesses the largest dragon alive. It will be a hard task to defeat Vhagar." The other lords around the table seem to agree and she cuts Daemon off before he can reply.

"Leave Vhagar to me, my lord. I'm sure that me and Cannibal can handle her." The table falls into silence at that and she sees from the corners of her eye that her mother and father are not agreed on that statement. The silence is interrupted by Ser Erryk who informs the council that a ship from the Greens had been seen on the shores and the council room is quickly cleared, leaving only Alysanne, Jace and Luke in the room.

She continues to assess the table and what allies they have when Luke places his hand on hers on the table. She looks over at him and sees that he looks concerned for her, his hand soft and warm on hers and so small. She pulls her hand out and places it on top of his, softly brushing her thumb over his. Sadly, her change in personality had also affected her relationships with her brothers. She spent so much time training Cannibal for possible fights with other dragons and herself spent more time into training with a sword as well. Still, she never acts cold towards them, never lashes her anger out at them because she lives for them and for the affection and love she receives from them. Luke still looks concerned but doesn't voice his worries. Instead, Jace does.

"Alysanne... If you mean to 'take care' of Vhagar, you mean to kill her... But for that, you will need to kill Aemond too."

She knew that it was exactly what all the lords around the table had questioned because Aemond's affections and love for his long time betrothed were so well known by everyone in the realm. She sighs deeply and knows deep down in her heart that it rebels at the thought of having to kill her one true love, the one man she loves. She hides her turmoil and problems under a practiced mask and puts on a smile that fools Luke and almost would have fooled Jacaerys. She softly grabs his hand and holds it tightly, needing to feel her twins' presence next to her.

"Don't worry about me, brothers. We aren't officially at war yet but when it comes to it, I will do what I must to defend us and to fight for our mother's and your birthright."

"I may not live for much longer... but I wish for one last thing before I might leave this earth forever." The King looks at Aemond and then at Alysanne at the dinner table with something that she assumed was a smile on his face. She realized then that this was it, that she had sealed her fate forever with the words she had uttered just hours ago in his chambers... She just didn't know that it would happen so soon.

"To mend the estrangement between our families, I have decided that Prince Aemond and Princess Alysanne shall be married to each other swiftly and soon, possibly after Rhaenyra gives birth. Then, we will celebrate the biggest wedding the Seven Kingdoms have ever seen. Then the gods can happily take me away."

The news of the wedding was a shock for everyone at the table and Alysanne swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat for she could feel the stares from both sides. Pretty much everyone either forgot the betrothal or opted to ignore it, knowing it still existed but not truly thinking of what would further happen with it. So to hear the King's words made both of her parents look at her in confusion and shock and Jace was almost uncontrollable with anger, wanting to punch the one eyed Prince right in his face. Before anything further could escalate, Aemond stood up with his cup in his hand, looking right at Alysanne who only had her cold gaze on the table.

"I wish to toast to my betrothed and soon enough, my wife. It has been twelve years since we were engaged and throughout our shared youth, you didn't fail to make me fall in love with you. Every time that I have seen you since only further proves that my love for you never dwindled or disappeared but simply resurfaced when I saw your evergrowing beauty through the years. I have loved you for years and will continue to love you until my dying breath. To You, my love."

Even though Alysanne felt sick at the looks that her family was giving her, she still had a tiny smile on her face and looked at Aemond lovingly, unable to hold her stoic, cold expression any longer. He smiled at her, genuinely and she wished he didn't.

Nothing in this world was more difficult for Alysanne than loving Aemond Targaryen.

Her father is furious as he comes back from their meeting with Otto Hightower, her mother as unreadable as ever. Alysanne thinks it was a good idea that she did not come for she would have ripped him apart, whether her mother commanded otherwise or not. The Council is only reconvened for a few moments before everyone is told to leave the room except for Alysanne, Jacaerys and Lucerys. The oldest daughter watches Daemon walk up and down the fireplace as he thinks hard about something she does not know. Her mother is across from her on the other side of the table, her brothers are next to her.

"Otto Hightower also mentioned your promised betrothal to Aemond. He said that we should go through with it and that it would mend the drift between our families and prevent war."

Alysanne's mind reels as she thinks about those words and wonders if a simple marriage between a second son and an eldest daughter would really mend anything... her mind immediately answers her, clear and aggressive. She does not believe she can marry Aemond with how he had betrayed her. Suddenly, Daemon turns around and looks at Alysanne, almost menacingly.

"If you had never said a single word to my brother no one would care for this stupid betrothal anymore. But you had to go through with it, didn't you? Why, because you love Aemond so much? Because you wanted to be with him? I am happy to know that you never will. You were stupid to think that you could ever marry him when you know the positions our families stand at. I don't know if you even care about your family when you were willing to marry your own enemy."

His fury is one that she had not ever seen directed at her and his words sting, just like he wants them to. Daemon has been a father to Alysanne ever since he had married her mother and he had never said anything so vile and hurtful to her. Her mother looks at him in a certain way that is silently trying to tell him to stop, to tone it down but he does not listen and keeps staring at her with anger that makes her furious in return.

"Yes, I know it was stupid, of course I knew! I knew what could happen, what the dangers were to wanting to marry him but believe it or not, at some point, I did love him. It was stupid and I let him love me and that was even stupider. But don't ever tell me that I do not care for this family, Daemon. Do not act as if that is true when you know it isn't."

"How would I know? You can not even outright say that you will kill him when you eventually face him and Vhagar with Cannibal! No, I do not believe you care for your family, Alysanne, not with the way you behave."

She sees her mother's mouth form words, something that looks like she's saying stop but it is too late for Alysanne is as angry and mad as anyone could ever be. She's hurt, she's sad, she's furious. In this moment, she feels like driving a sword through Daemon's chest.

"You liar! I have always cared for my family! Every single moment of my life, I have wanted to protect my family! Ever since Aemond lost his eye at Driftmark I have known and understood the consequences of the separation between our families. Why do you think I wanted a dragon the moment we got back? Why do you think I spent two years trying to claim and bond to dragons? Why do you think that, out of all the wild dragons, I claimed Cannibal? Because I knew none of the other ones stood a chance against Vhagar! Why do you think I have been obsessed with learning how to fight with a sword? Why do you think I always worry about where my brothers and sisters are? Because I have been preparing for this war since I was a child! I have been scared of it, of what would happen to my family and about what would happen to Aemond, yes, I worried over him because I love him. But don't ever tell me that I do not care for my family when I know deep down in my heart that I would kill Aemond the moment I get my hands on him. Don't ever make assumptions and accusations like that ever again, Daemon."

Alysanne is screaming at him in fury and her hands are shaking from how angry she feels. She starts crying at some point too but she does not care and later on realizes that confessing all her insecurities and worries to her family is an awful thing. Her grip on the table makes her feel like it will break apart soon and she feels like she will break apart in a similar way. She knows her brothers are staring at her in shock next to her, her mother looks at her with concern and her father remains unreadable. Before anything else can be said, she storms away from the painted table and out of the room, furiously wiping her tears away as if they were poison to her.

She hears her mother calling after her but no one follows her which she deems as good. It's good, she should be alone. She loves to be alone. She needs to be alone. She does not want to be alone.

Anger and sadness rage inside her in a tandem and she keeps having to stop herself from throwing a punch at the wall just so she would be rid of this agonizing feeling. She hears a distant roar that echoes out, Cannibal feeling her emotions through the bond and most likely trying to pick a fight with one of the other dragons now. With this fury inside her and Cannibal, she thinks she could burn King's Landing down at this very moment.

She walks back to her chambers quickly to prevent herself from actually going to Cannibal's nest and take off with him. Once she is inside her room, she practices the calming breathing techniques that the Maestar had taught her. Breathe in, hold, breathe out. Breathe in, hold, breathe out.

She feels like it works although she is never so sure because her rage never truly leaves her, only retreats and waits to come back in the worst possible times. She walks around in her room, closing her eyes and wills herself to be normal, be normal, be fucking normal.

She hears the door open behind her and it's Jace. She does not say anything as he comes closer to her and stops right in front of her, his face etched in concern and love. She wonders what he possibly could love about her. He closes the distance between them and takes her in his arms, holding her close and hugging her tightly like he used to when they were small. She hugs him back and wonders how long it has been since she hugged her own twin because her heart aches at how much she missed this. Her face is buried in his neck and she smells his scent on him, undeniably her twin. She wishes she would cry in his arms and tell him that she's sorry but she doesn't.

He breaks away from their hug and stares into her eyes. She wonders if he can see how broken she truly is, how incredibly awful and terrible she is at her core but she does not think of it, not now. Maybe in the dead of the night under the covers when she can cry herself to sleep. She takes Jacaerys's face into her hands and hopes to make him understand how she feels.

"Everything I have done... Claiming Cannibal, learning how to fight, closing myself off to anyone who is not my family... I have done this for mother and for her birthright because I knew that someday, we would go to war and have to fight for it and we have arrived at that day. But I want you to know that by extension, I do not only do this for mother but for you too. I believe in you, Jacaerys. Your reign over the Kingdom will be peaceful and good because you are a kind man and have learned all your life how to rule, unlike Aegon. I will breathe, live and die to put mother and you on the Iron Throne. I swear by this, nothing will ever change that, not even Aemond."

Alysanne sees his eyes gather with tears and she wonders if her brother knows that she would really do anything for him to have his birthright, which was promised to him all his life. His hands hold her wrists and his tears fall as if a waterfall had opened and she tries to control her emotions so she won't cry. He is taller than her but she goes up on her toes and plants a soft kiss on his forehead and wipes the tears from his face. She holds onto him so dearly, so tightly because she's scared of losing him, scared of what will happen during the war. People die so quickly and easily and her heart aches at the thought of having to lose a single person in her family... Mother, Father, Jace, Luke, Joffrey, Baela, Rhaena, Aegon, Viserys. Nothing can happen to them. Nothing, not ever.

"I will make sure you will sit on the throne after our mother, trust this, Jace. I will forever be by your side."

"I know you are worried about our families but please, set it aside for now. I just want to be with you and not worry about their stupid problems for once."

Alysanne continued to stare into the fireplace, hoping for an answer to her worries and fears. She basked in the closeness she was enjoying with Aemond, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder, leaning onto him. She played with the string of his shirt as she contemplated on anything and everything, whatever that was.

"The reason I worry is because they hate each other. I don't know how this will work out... But at least it is set in stone now. Only a few moons until we are to be married... It doesn't feel real."

His hand was so gentle as it went through her hair, so loving and caring, attributes that no one would ever think of Aemond. No one but Alysanne. She wondered if she was cursed for it in the end, if her love for Aemond would be ill-placed and she wanted to forget about it just now. She was in the arms of the man she loved, a man she maybe should not be marrying but she could worry about that later. She broke herself away from her cozy place only to sit on his lap, her legs on either side of his body and she looked at him with nothing but love. He looked down at where Alysanne was sitting on his thigh and looked back up again, the smallest smile on his lips.

Alysanne reached up and took the eyepatch off to reveal the beautiful blue sapphire that was in the place of his eye. She brushed over his scarred cheek and studied his hidden eye closely, Aemond was not phased by this in any way. He liked that Alysanne did not feel uncomfortable about seeing him without the eyepatch and his heart clenched once more at how carefully she was touching him. She was everything to him, his beautiful Alysanne, his perfect girl, the sun to his moon. He wished to have her in his arms forever like this. She studied the years old scar as if it would rip open and tell her all of Aemond's secrets and thoughts.

"Don't worry. I'll get back at your brother for this one day."

She glared at him but didn't say anything since he laughed right after and it made her heart skip. He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and held one side of her face with his hand. He knew that many thought of her as a brute, cold woman but she was never like that to him, always so soft and gentle and he wished he could keep her right here forever, in his arms, until the world crashed and burned around them.

He knew it would not bother them. They would be happy together, for the rest of their days.

Alysanne hates it, she lets everyone know by making a show of protesting it. She tells her mother that it's foolish to send Jacaerys and Lucerys away to be messengers, that the ravens would be enough, that she could go to the Vale, Winterfell and Storm's End to deliver the messages on Cannibal. Her mother immediately renounces that idea, telling her that sending Cannibal and her would send the wrong message to these lords. She would remain at Dragonstone with her and father to continue plans and be present at the council.

The nervousness strikes her, her worry for her brothers immense and unrelenting. She stands by their dragons as they swear to not act as warriors on their journeys but as messengers. Alysanne knows they will be fine because they have to be. They have no other choice but to come back to her safe and sound.

They leave mother with one last hug and approach her now as they are about to fly off. She is clearly worried and nervous as they come closer and Jace is the first to hug her, holding her close just like last time. She closes her eyes at how familiar it feels to be held by him and presses him close. She leaves a small kiss on his cheek before they part and she holds onto his shoulders, wondering if she can keep him here if she holds on strongly enough. He sees the worry in his twin's eyes and squeezes her shoulder.

"I will come back, sister, do not worry."

Alysanne thinks he's foolish for telling her not to worry but lets him leap onto Vermax either way. She is then faced with Luke who looks up at her with wide, scared eyes from the nest of brown locks on his head. Alysanne's heart hurts at how small he looks and she wants to pick him up like she used to when they were younger and hide him in the castle, wrap him in a blanket and never let him see the horrors of the world. He is almost as tall as her and it frightens her that her younger brother is growing up so quickly. She never gave him permission for that. She cups his small face in her hands and wants to cry at how much more it dwarfs him, so small and yet so brave to fly to Storm's End all on his own.

"My little brother, I'll miss you but you'll be back in no time anyway. Either way, be careful. I wish I could go instead but maybe I can secretly follow after you on Cannibal."

Luke lets out a small laugh at that and smiles at her, his nervousness not so bad now. "I think mother would kill you if you did."

Alysanne smiles at that too and agrees. She ruffles his pretty locks and leans down to be closer to him and kisses his forehead as gently as ever. He had always loved when his elder sister was sweet to him, always felt safe and secure with her. Luke then turns to approach his dragon but comes running back just a few seconds later and hugs Alysanne tightly.

"Don't blame yourself for Aemond. It's alright for you to love him, you can't choose over it but please don't blame yourself, sister. I know what you have done for us and I'm happy that you're my sister and protect me from everything. I love you, Alysanne."

The princess is startled by his words but she smiles at them nonetheless, her heart bursting at how sweet her brother is. Her smart boy, her little Luke.

"I love you too, sweet boy. Don't worry about me, you make sure that you come back safely to me."

My dearest Alysanne,

it has been only a day since you left but I miss you so terribly already. I hope you arrive safely at Dragonstone and think of me as much as I think of you. Soon we will be wed and everyone will see that we are bound and meant to be together, in the eyes of god and men.

It almost pains me physically to not have you by my side now, to hold you close to me and to let you see me as I am. There is no one in the Seven Kingdoms that I have ever met that has made me feel like you do. There is no one in the Known World, living or dead, that will ever enthrall me like you. I could not explain it, can not tell you why I love you so much, just that I do. I am yours and you are mine until the end of our days. I wish to get on Vhagar and fly after you and Cannibal to Dragonstone just so I can be with you, hold your hands, your face, tell you that my heart desires no one but you and that you will forever have me trapped, that I chase you like the moon chases the sun, forever.

I hope to meet up at our spot soon. The little island will always be there and I will be there too, waiting for you.

I love you. Now and always.

Forever yours, Aemond

She hates him. Now and always.

She doesn't believe it when she's told, only shakes her head when her mother comes into her room, tears all over her face. She tells him that Lucerys had died, attacked by another dragon. Her mother is silent when Alysanne asks which dragon and who it was. Did it matter? She does not believe her anyway because it's not true. Lucerys is still alive, just on his way back from Storm's End.

She's completely still as her mother tells her that it was Vhagar who had attacked and killed him. She doesn't move, doesn't breathe, doesn't see anything but red. She did not believe it because who would hurt her Luke like this? Who? Her sweet little brother who was only a child, a little boy still so young and unaware of the horrors of war. But now she believes it because she sees the way her mother continues to sob and cry.

Alysanne believes it now.

I'll get back at your brother for this one day.

A loud dragon roar is heard outside, Cannibal is so loud that it almost deafens her. It must have been heard to King's Landing.

Good, she thinks. Let them hear the roar of a dragon.

She wants to throw the chair she leans on at the wall, wants to take her sword and break her bed with it, wants to scream and pull her hair and bash her head on the ground and punch herself and punch her fist at the wall until it breaks-

She feels arms envelop her and it's her mother that had been crying so bitterly at the loss of her son, holding her close, so close because she's scared of losing her. Alysanne's mind swallows her anger automatically with her mother so close in her vicinity. She can not be violent towards her mother, she would rather die. Maybe her mother senses that she's feeling awful and that she wants to hurt herself to make the pain go away and hugs her so she won't. Alysanne doesn't know. She holds onto her mother either way, like a child she wails in her arms and screams for him. She screams for Lucerys to come back, she doesn't understand why he's not coming and running to her at her distress, doesn't understand that the little brother she held in her arms and kissed on his forehead just hours ago was dead.

The Gods play tricks on her indeed.

Her mother leaves her alone a little while later at her request and Alysanne goes to Lucerys' room because maybe he'll be hiding somewhere, waiting for Alysanne to find him. She looks around the room and wonders how it can suddenly feel so empty, so void as if no one lived here anymore. She takes a few more steps into the room, looks at the strewn and messy books on his study table and remembers that she told him once to keep his mess organized. He never listened to her.

He'll never listen to her ever again.

Her eyes go over his bed and she spots a small plush toy that she knows all too well. She approaches the bed and takes it in her hands, almost feeling like it will dissolve when she picks it up. She had made it for him, years ago when she still had lessons with a septa, she learned how to make these small plush toys. When she was young, she had made one for each of her brothers and made them look like their dragons. She sits there with a toy version of Arrax and her heart hurts, screams, burns like a wildfire. Their bodies are gone, she realizes. Lucerys and Arrax are both lost somewhere in the sea. They can not even be burned.

Another loud, angry roar is heard from Cannibal. She's never heard him sound this angry.

She's never been this angry.

She puts the plush toy back and swiftly walks out of the room, her face stone cold as she marches to her room. All she takes is her sword and small dagger, nothing to protect her from the cold.

Good, she thinks. I shall feel what Lucerys felt when he died. Cold, scared and frightened.

She passes guards as she makes her way outside but they pay her no mind and pass by her quickly because they are scared of Cannibal's roars and know that he is only so loud because of her anger. Her dragon is already perched right outside of the gates. He looks as black and dreadful and menacing as ever, his roars still sounding all over Dragonstone. The guards that stand outside are terrified, not willing to get any closer to him but Alysanne does not care. She approaches him and climbs onto his back, the huge dragon is not at all phased by this.

As soon as she is in her saddle the dragon shouts out another menacing roar and takes off, not having to listen to his rider's orders. Alysanne believes he can read her mind and knows where to go without her having to say anything. She loves him for it.

It's a short flight to the island that they called theirs, somewhere in the middle in between King's Landing and Dragonstone. It was just large enough for Vhagar and Cannibal to reside on and for Aemond and Alysanne to have time for themselves when they could.

Yes, she thinks. We'll be by ourselves with no one to hear his or Vhagar's screams and roars.

She does not know for sure if he is there but behold the gods, he is. She spots the large dragon figure on the island and a figure of white long hair in black clothes sitting on the beach. His head is downcast when she comes closer but he does not raise his head even though Cannibal is more than loud. He lands her a safe distance away from Vhagar, the older dragon staying at her spot with her snout next to Aemond. Alysanne gets off of Cannibal and approaches Aemond who is crying into his hands. She doesn't concern herself with it, only pulls her sword out towards him and the sound of the metal finally makes him turn his head. He looks horrified at who's standing in front of him but Alysanne remains cold, stoic, hard. His tear streaked face and his tired, sorrowful expression do not hurt her.

He is frantic to come closer and she lets him but only until the tip of her sword touches his chest. He looks at her beggingly but she only shakes her head. He feels cold and awful at the empty eyes she's looking at him with and it seems to terrify him that she held no love for him in her eyes. Before he can say anything, she cuts him off.

"I thought about killing Aegon first, you know? An eye for an eye, a brother for a brother. That's what all this was about after all. But then I realized that you do not love Aegon nearly as much as I love Lucerys. In fact, if I killed him, you would be better off since the crown would fall to you, his children are still so little after all. Then I thought and thought about whose death would pain you as much as Luke's pains me... That's why I thought of killing myself in front of you."

Aemond looks horrified at her words and does not believe that this is really his Alysanne. He had never, ever felt any of the anger or animosity she held inside of her directed to him so this hurts him deeply, cuts his heart in half so painfully. He shakes his head at her word and falls on his knees, powerless and defeated by the murder he had done and by the hatred of the woman he loves.

"Please, Alysanne, I beg you, do not hurt yourself. Please, I'm sorry, I swear it was an accident. I lost control of Vhagar, I didn't mean to do it! I never wanted to kill him, I just wanted his eye! Please, you have to believe me, please, I will do anything for you, please don't hate me."

Aemond sobs and cries like she did earlier and it satisfies her to know that he is in pain. She does not think that he deserves to cry like this just because she wants to hurt him. She lost a brother, he only lost his love. Unfortunately however, she still loves him and a small part of her is in pain at seeing him so distraught and hysterical. She wants to hold him, comfort him, hug him...

And then she remembers that Luke is dead. And all those feelings are gone immediately.

"Don't worry, I won't kill myself. I still have a war to win, a mother to put on a throne, a birthright to restore for my brother. My family needs me and Cannibal so no, I can not give myself the pleasure of killing myself for your misery." Alysanne then smiles, a tiny smile but it is so scaring and horrifying that Aemond shivers from where he's looking up to her.

"But I'm happy that you mention Vhagar. I was going to kill her anyway for killing Luke and Arrax but now, I want you to watch her die. I want you to watch me take away the one only thing that has ever given you power in your life and want you to feel what it's like to lose everything."

Aemond only looks at her in disbelief and horror and watches as if he is trapped in his body as Alysanne commands for Cannibal to attack and kill. Vhagar is still lazily lying there, clearly exhausted from the turmoil of emotions her rider is feeling. Because of this, she is weak and her already old state makes her slow to move. It's almost funny that Cannibal is almost as old as her but so much quicker and more brutal. Even Aemond had once admitted that Cannibal was a better war dragon than Vhagar, simply because he was large but because of his long body, still quick to move. Besides, wild dragons are truly ruthless creatures, taking whatever they want and being used to much more brutally by themselves and without a rider.

Alysanne smiles as Cannibal bites the old dragon's tail and simply rips it off, tossing it on the beach next to him, never one to waste his food. Vhagar roars out but it's weak, lame and it takes a long time for her to move, so long that Cannibal is already bursting his massive fire at the old creature. The pain from the fire only makes it worse for the she-dragon and just as Vhagar is about to attack and spew fire of her own, Cannibal grips his teeth around her neck. They struggle back and forth for a few seconds and Alysanne sees the blood drip from Vhagar's neck. Eventually, Cannibal bites all around her neck completely and the dragon's head slices slowly to the ground, making a wet, disgusting sound as it lands on the sand. The huge body of the dragon sacks down in itself and Cannibal begins to feast on her carcass. He will have plenty of food for at least a week.

Alysanne turns back to Aemond who had just watched in horror this whole time, did not say a single word or command Vhagar to attack back. His mouth is open in shock and tears fall down his face as he watches Cannibal feast on his dragon. This is what it feels like, Alysanne thinks. You should feel even more.

Aemond turns back to her and his expression is unchanged, only shock and disbelief in his eyes. She only holds her sword up and points it at his chest once again. She doesn't know how stupid he is but clearly, he is very stupid because he makes no move to get away or attack her. She hardens the grip on her handle and holds the sword right where his heart is. She looks down on his chest and then back up again into his eye. She reaches forward and rips his eyepatch off in anger. Her expression is just as cold as before but her heart beats in fear now and she does not know if she can bring herself to slice it into his chest.

For him, she thinks. For Luke. Your little Luke who only ever wanted to be held by you and talk to you about his worries over ruling one day. Luke who only ever wanted to know that he was loved. Luke who did not wish to go, did not wish to fly into a trap to his own death.

Her inner demons make the decision for her and she pushes the sword in with all her strength and feels it go through his skin, his blood spilling out like a fountain. She doesn't stop pushing in until she feels the sword come out at the other end and only then does she rip it out. The blood flows out even more and Aemond doesn't scream at the pain, only holds his chest in shock and falls backwards on the sand onto his back. Alysanne throws her sword to the side and pulls out the dagger as she falls to her knees next to his body. He looks at her, has been looking at her this whole time and still does not say anything, does not attack her or tell her to stop. He has accepted his demise, so it seems.

His blood covered hand from his chest reaches up with all the strength he has left and he touches her cheek, so softly and gently. Alysanne is crying now and can not hold her emotions at bay anymore as she feels his warm, almost hot blood cover her cheek. He wipes away her tears and she drops the dagger that she had planned to take his eye out with as he cries too but strangely, there's a smile on his face. She leans down now and lies next to him, half her body on his as she continues to cry over her lost love. She puts one hand on his where it's holding his wound and smiles back at him. She feels happiness but sadness, sorrow and relief, darkness and light all at the same time. She sees how much harder it gets for him to breathe and the blood continues to come out of his chest, staining her dress but she doesn't care.

"Will you... come back here? Sometimes, just to remember me? When you have found... someone else you will love and be with and marry, will you still.. remember me?"

He talks slowly and his voice is almost at a whisper, taking breaths in between his words and Alysanne cries and cries and cries. She sobs for him and at what she had to do and asks why in hell he had to kill her brother but she nods all the same, can not let go of her first and only real love she ever had. Her heart feels just like Aemond's wound, bleeding and pierced with a sword and she leans her head on his, her tears falling on his face and mixing with his tears.

"No, I won't ever take anyone else. I can never love anyone like I love you, Aemond. I do not understand it... I despise you and I adore you. I hate you and I love you. I kill you and cry over you dying. What have you done with me, Aemond? What is this spell that you have put on me? I can never love someone again, never in my life. And I will think of you in every breath I take, with every turn of the sun, with every time I wake and go to sleep. You will never leave me, Aemond Targaryen. In death and in life. I love you, now and always."

Alysanne sobs and cries so bitterly, so painfully that she feels like she can not breathe from her sobs. She looks at Aemond and can see the life slowly leaving his eyes and she only holds on tighter to his hand on his chest, sobs and cries as if she had not done this to him. She reaches down and kisses him, one last time and wishes she had kissed him more in the past so she could remember what it really felt like. He looks at her with still so much love and smiles at her.

"I love you, Alysanne. Now and always."

She feels his hand on her cheek slowly slip away, the strength leaving his body and it pains and fills her with joy in a way that she does not understand. She only cries more as his hand falls down, his other hand turning motionless too. She sees the moment life leaves his eyes, that his soul departs from his body. Alysanne screams now and sobs and cries and can not stop her emotions from overflowing. She leans closer to him, her head on his chest right next to where his wound is and holds onto his hand with both of her hands as she lies there next to him. Her love was gone, forever perished by her hand and would never wake up again, tell her that he loved her, hold her so gently and speak of their wedding and how happy he would finally be to not be apart, to have her at his side at all times. He would never feel that happiness again, he would never feel his love for her again, he would never feel anything ever again. She sobs and cries next to his body for some time more, knowing that what she had done would haunt her for the rest of her life. It was terrible. Terrible but necessary.

Aemond Targaryen is dead.

Lucerys Velaryon is avenged.

When she comes flying back on Cannibal hours later her family is standing at the gates, seemingly worried for her. She sees her parents waiting for her and wonders if they will judge her for what she has done today.

Cannibal lands and Alysanne quickly gets off of the dragon. Her mother and father rush to her but stop when she sees that the blood she is covered in is not hers. She must look as insane as she feels, her white dress covered in blood at almost every part, her face and hands covered in it even more. She doesn't look at either of them as she gets off, too ashamed for how they would see her now. She gives Cannibal two pats and Aemond's body rolls out of his jaw with a horrifying splat and her dragon flies off to his nest, resting from the emotional and physically turmoil he had felt today. Rhaenyra and Daemon both look at him in shock and then at Alysanne. She only looks at Aemond, his eyes now closed but his body grotesquely bloodied all the same. Her mother steps closer and holds her by her shoulder, begging her to look up but she does not. She needs to remember Aemond's face, one last time before he's truly gone.

"What happened to Vhagar?" Her father questions, his shock now over but he still seems hesitant about how he feels. She looks up now and looks Daemon in the eyes, nothing but coldness in her eyes.

"Dead, lying on an island not far from here where I found her with him. Cannibal gave her a quick death and ate half her carcass already. He'll go back for more in the next few days until there's nothing left."

She now finally looks at her mother, who looks horrified at what she has done. She wonders if her own mother might not see her in the same light anymore but she brings the hand from her shoulder to her cheek and softly holds it there, uncaring about the blood.

"You did not have to do this, my little one." Her mother has tears in her eyes and she doesn't stop them from flowing out, in sadness over how her little girl had to go through so much pain just because of the man she loved. She looks at her mother and tries to soften her gaze. She does not know if it works or if she will ever be able to feel something again after what she has done.

"But I did. I loved him but I had to kill him at the same time. I could not let him live knowing what he had done to Luke. I just couldn't."

She looks away and back down at Aemond, his face so at peace now with his eye closed and almost a ghost of a smile on his lips. She stares at him for a few seconds, tries to memorize every detail about his beautiful face and feels herself crying again without sobbing this time. The tears just fall down her face without her wanting them to, just like everything else feels out of her control. She then bends down to him and leans his head in her direction, his body already growing cold and it pains her, burns her to feel that there was no more dragon blood in his body. She reaches her hand up to his face and softly cradles his cheeks and then takes the sapphire out of his eye socket. She does not look at him after that anymore, knowing he would not have wanted her to see him without it. She stands upright again and looks at the small blue sapphire in her hands, her last memory of him. She balls her hand into a fist around the sapphire and wishes she could just be at peace in her life, for once. She does not get peace, will never get it.

She walks past her parents and into the castle, the guards she passes looking at her in horror and shock. Now they see me as I am, she thinks. A monster.

She wants to start crying again when she remembers that Aemond had once said the same thing to her about himself. She wishes to hold him again, one last time just like on the beach, hold hands with him and tell him that she loved him and could never forget him. She wishes to hold him, to be with him but she does not wish for him to be alive again because it would then rip her apart to know that the man who had murdered her brother still lived. But she wished to turn back time for the rest of her life, lay in his arms again on the beach, kiss him and tell him that she will never forget about him. But she can not.

Aemond Targaryen is dead. Lucerys Velaryon is avenged.

Alysanne Velaryon brought justice for her brother and for her family. It was justice for the world and a small consolation prize for her pain of losing Luke.

An eye for an eye, she thinks. A life for a life.

Alysanne wishes justice for herself too. She wishes death for herself too.

[lavendermoonlitskies]

Fanfic Friday: fic recs!

Hiii everyone, happy Friday! I forgot that I made a post like this ages ago for fanfic Friday, but I’ve read a bunch since then so here are some recommendations of Good Omens fics I’ve enjoyed recently:

“Heaven isn't built to house a love like you and I” by ItsScottiesStark

Rating: T

Length: 37,291 (8 chapters)

Summary: They did it. They stopped Armageddon. They survived.

This was it, the first time they were actually free to finally figure out what their side entailed.

Aziraphale is a being of love. Always has been. And now, all the love he has for Crowley is free to flow from the edge of his fingertips to the demon's, in a gesture that could only mean one thing; I'm with you. I'm here.

As much as his hands itch to reach out for the love of his existence, his words seem to fail him, time and time again. He knows Crowley deserves more than gentle hand holding and forehead kisses in the dark. He aches to scream his love from the top of his lungs, for the whole world to hear. And the demon knows it.

And he waits. Because he'll wait forever for Aziraphale. Because he knows they are meant to be one.

This one is great at immediately grabbing your attention. It starts on the bus during that scene towards the end of season 1 where Aziraphale holds Crowley’s hand, which very smoothly leads in to this theme of physical contact and how although they’re both unfamiliar with it, it’s secretly something they both long for from the other. Without spoiling too much, they sort of subtly lean into this desire for physical affection in a way that’s incredibly sweet yet almost tragic with how hesitant they are at the start of it. You can tell that they want so desperately to let the other know how much they care, but they still don’t know if the other is on the same page (so “he waits. Because he’ll wait forever for Aziraphale.”). This writer is really great at conveying how much they really love each other, highly recommend!

“Twin Suns” by IneffableDoll

Rating: T

Length: 7,291 words (3 chapters)

Summary: “I thought you were gone,” Crowley mumbled, and it was almost cliché, it was almost the kind of sentimental rubbish he would’ve moaned at had he heard it from someone else. But they were the rawest words he could manage. He’d thought Aziraphale was gone. That was all, and it said everything.

***

Directly following their celebratory meal at the Ritz, Aziraphale and Crowley clash with the feelings that struggle to settle after everything they’ve been through. And, in so doing, learn to rely on and communicate with each other in new ways.

Similar in concept to the previous one I mentioned, this fic takes place after the events of season 1. They get into some real honest conversations (something I love reading in fics because the characters in canon are not at that point yet and I am HUNGRY for some emotional honesty from them), and something I really love about this one is how patient they are with each other. In chapter one Crowley says that he’s not ready for this conversation, and Aziraphale respects that. Without spoiling too much more, they’re both super careful with the other’s boundaries as they kind of start to think and talk more about the love they have for each other that they’ve never really gotten the chance to explore until now. I absolutely love how they take things nice and slow, attentive to how the other is feeling about all of this. This kind of love is a new concept for the both of them, but they wouldn’t want it with anyone else, and so they try. And I think that’s beautiful.

“Icebergs and Angels” by The_Bentley

Rating: T/M (two versions)

Length: 23,498/24,929 words (8 chapters each)

Summary: It's 1912 and Aziraphale, not wanting to be lonely during his mission aboard Titanic, invites Crowley along for a cruise. But he boards the ship before knowing exactly what his mission is. When he learns Heaven wants to teach humanity a lesson for the claim even God couldn't sink it, it could damage his relationship with Crowley, who has his own views on Heaven's need to punish innocents. Can he repair things with Crowley and can they work together to save as many lives as possible?

The concept of this one is so cool, and very much something I could see actually happening in the show as another historical flashback/mini-sode. Aziraphale is given a mission from Heaven that entails many humans losing their lives, he’s obviously not on-board with that, and Crowley is there to help him save as many human lives as possible because, as much as he’d hate to admit it, he really is a nice demon who very much disapproves of Heaven’s disregard for human life. Throughout this one you get to see how the two of them interact with the humans, all while Aziraphale is battling this inner conflict of wanting to just go along with Heaven’s orders without questioning it while simultaneously knowing that it’s wrong. The narration is great, beautifully written and I really felt like the writer understands these characters on a very deep level. There are two different versions of this one, both of which are fantastic. I personally felt that the more platonic/aroace approach to Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship in the context of this particular story was more fitting, but if you’d like something a little spicier I thought that the Mature rated one was just as good! (I’m linking the non-spicy version here, but the link to the spicy one is in the summary!)

[minty-mumbles]

Flared Fins Mer AU Lore Dump

You can find the fic on tumblr and on AO3

Character Breakdowns:

Wind: 8 (Pup) - Tropical Mer

Adult coloring will be Orange with light blue splotches, like a koi fish’s pattern

Fun fact: He and Warriors are, in fact, very distantly related.

Hyrule: 13/14 (Juvenile) - Octopus Mer

Adult coloring: Green with golden freckles all over him

Fun fact: His healing magic is not as strong in this fic, or at least not as developed. Most of his magic

Wild: 15/16 (Juvenile) - Deepsea Mer - Adult coloring: Dark blue with teal lines. The markings on one of his arms are strangely more of a green color, for some reason

Fun facts: His fins are bioluminescent (and his markings as well, when he gets older.) He has giant fins that are good for threat displays but are very delicate. He’s a better fighter then Hyrule, but being in more fights leads to him having a lot of torn fins. Due to being a deepsea Mer, who would naturally have less opportunities to eat, he metabolizes his food well and doesn’t need to feed as often.

Four: 16 (Juvenile)  - Tropical Mer (Based off a beta fish)

Adult coloring: On one side is green fading to red on the fins, the other is blue fading to purple. As a juvenile, he only has the split green and blue

Fun fact: Four absorbed his twin in the egg, which is why his colors are split down the middle. He is the most territorial in the pod. When he and Wild get to know each other, they like to flare their fins at each other to show off and get rid of territorial aggression. Four bites

Legend: 19 (Almost an adult) - Tropical Mer (Based off a Sea bunny, which is a kind of sea slug)

Adult coloring: Light Pink with red markings

Fun facts: He is courting Ravio (A purple sea bunny.) His tail ring functions the same as his pegasus boots, which is why he could catch Hyrule

Sky: 21 (Adult) - Tropical Mer (Based off the flying fish)

Coloring: Red with silver fins and small yellow marks

Fun facts: He is courting Sun. He has a giant pet Grouper called Crimson. (Sky: Crimson is friend, not food!) Crimson is nine feet long and can pull him along faster than most mers can swim. (Groupers really can get that big. They probably aren’t really that fast though.)

Twilight: 23-25 (Adult) - Tropical/Freshwater hybrid

Coloring: Dark green with gray underbelly and thick black marks

Fun fact: His colors are so much duller because of his freshwater ancestry. He can survive in freshwater for a lot longer than others can. Sometimes goes and hunts in nearby rivers. He has an orca tooth necklace that can turn him into an orca. Yes, the Orca is called “Orcie.”

Warriors: 25-27 (Adult) - Tropical Mer

Coloring: Royal blue with orange marks on the ends of his fins. HE has a kind of iridescence to his scales that most Mer consider very pretty

Fun fact: Warriors has a twin, Linkle, who is currently very lost, wandering around in deep sea Mer territory.

Time: Very old (Adult) - Tropical Mer

Coloring: White/silver with thin red and blue line markings

Fun fact: He is mates with Malon, who is a deepsea Mer. Malon prefers to live in the deep, but they visit each other often. Yes, it is weird that a deepsea Mer would take a permanent mate but Malon does what she wants. She thinks it’s very funny that her husband adopted so many kids, and dots on them when she visits.

Worldbuilding:

Very young Mer are called fry. They are a lot more competent than human babies, being able to swim right after hatching, but during the first year of their life, they run mainly on their fish instincts. Fry are not considered super valuable to Mer, because Mer may have up to 20 fry from one clutch of eggs. Very few of survive the fry stage. Often a pod will choose the best looking/biggest fry and focus their energy on them, leaving the others to fend for themselves. (They won’t be chased away or killed, and if one does make it to puphood by themselves, all the better. But smaller pods can’t afford to feed 20 new mouths at once when all of them won’t survive.)

Those that reach a year old are called pups, at which point they shake off the more intense instincts, and become a little more reliant on their guardians. At 12-14 years old, they become juveniles. They have a huge growth spurt, and they turn from their dull pup colors to their main adult colors. Pup colors are usually either neutrals (other than white) or a very desaturated version of their adult colors. They are considered adults at around 20, around which time they gain their makings. They stop aging at around 30 years old, but keep getting bigger.

Tropical Mer stay in their birth pods unless they get a mate and decide to go to their mate’s pod, or decide to try to start their own pods. There are exceptions though, where juveniles/new adults will leave their pod because they don't fit in well.

Mer “Species” are more vague categories. There are tropical, deepsea, fresh water, octopus, etc. Most of them can still interbreed with only a little difficulty, (as long as they can get over their different social practices) so they’re not really distinct species. (Thought sometimes interbreeding can be difficult to achieve, and sometimes those children turn out sterile, like Mules are)

Tropical Mer are territorial, but they do still interact with neighboring Pods and trade at designated market areas. They aren’t isolated. Deepsea Mer are solitary, and Octopus Mer are solitary/only share territory with mates. If you are part of a social species but do not have a pod, you are considered a loner.

For one reason or another, Time ended up taking each of the boys under his fin, so to speak. Four was abandoned by his birth Pod because of his strange colors when he became a juvenile. Twilight went exploring up a river where his Tropical Mer mother could not follow, and couldn’t find her again when he came back. Sky fell asleep as a pup and got left behind when his pod moved on. Due to being twins, Warriors and Linkle were small coming out of the egg, and their pods decided to focus more on their other fry. Warriors never really integrated himself into the pod after that and left early. Things like that.

Mer can’t breathe air. A typical adult Mer can hold their breath comfortably for about 30 minutes though, so they still like to sunbathe on beaches if they can. They have gills on their neck and sides of their chest. Water flows into the neck gills and out the chest gills. The mouth is just for vocalizations and eating. As long as their necks are in the water, they can stick their heads out of the water as long as they want. They have bad eyesight above the waves.

Mer have their own language that needs to be taught to children, but they also have more internal vocalization that does not need to be taught. These vocalizations can get across more specific messages than just emotions, but the meanings aren’t as advanced as language. If you spend a lot of time around a Mer, you will be able to pick up on some of their vocalizations’ more subtle meanings, like discerning “hello” from “good morning/evening/etc.”

Mer are mostly carnivores, and they obviously do not cook their food. They do not scavenge unless they are desperate, preferring to hunt for themselves. Sometimes they eat plants like kelp for variety, but that’s not essential. Mollusk type shellfish (Clams, oysters, ect) are good snacks but aren’t really filling. 

Mer that are social sleep cuddled together and all intertwined, to keep themselves from drifting apart while they're asleep. (Less of a fear when sleeping in a cave, but in the open ocean? Many pods have been permanently split on accident because of currents moving them three miles apart in the night)

Hylians exist in this au and they know that Mer exist, but they don't interact much. There’s a language barrier, and Hylians can’t make the right sounds for Mer language and vice versa. There have been exceptions, where one species’ sign language is taught to a member of the other, but this isn’t common. Hylians are at the same level of development as in the LOZ games. They do not have modern science, etc

[welcomingdisaster]

not-6-sentence not-sunday

yesterday I got tagged by @sallysavestheday for 6 sentence tuesday! i'm going to cheat a little bit (a lot?) and post a whole scene, because i like the way it flows and i don't know when/if i'll actually finish/publish the fic.

here's something from a gil-galad character study!

The brothers lay stretched across the little laying-couch, their sides pressed against each other. Elrond, stuck between Elros and the back of the couch, was reading; Elros carved out of wood the figure out an elf upon a great-horse. Though little cuttings of wood fell down on his book and Elros’s shoulder blocked the light Elrond found he much preferred the closeness to the cold solitude of the sitting-chairs across the room, where their guardian and his brother warmed their feet by the fire. 

“Who do you carve?” he asked, raising a finger to trace the curved nose of the stallion. 

“A king,” Elros said, “a very fine king.” 

Elrond waited for an elaboration, but it did not come. “Which one?” 

“Finwë,” Elros said, “or maybe Fëanor or Fingolfin.” Grand names; the things of legend, told to them by the servants of Maglor and very rarely by Maglor himself. “Except mine is alive.” 

Elrond watched his brother’s fine amber-brown hands on the wood, whittling away now the shape of the king’s head. He gave him a high nose and a proudly raised chin, though the neck was perhaps a little too long and oddly arched, giving the king some faint resemblance to an alpaca. 

“Gil-galad,” he suggested, “he’s alive.” 

A risk. He knew very little of that king, except he lived and ruled; his name was spoken often but with little substance, except for the tense whispers the Feanorians exchanged now and then in the night, when they thought the twins slept. The armies of Gil-galad, sometimes, or Gil-galad moves west. 

Almost as soon as he had spoken the name he knew he spoke in error, for Maedhros rose very suddenly from his seat by the fire. 

Elrond was not afraid of Maedhros, not truly, not anymore. He saw him little, and spoke to him less, but in the three years they had spent with Maglor his brother had not hurt them, and he would not hurt them now. But still he sat up quickly, and fixed his collar and his braids, tried to look presentable, for interaction with Maedhros always felt stiff and oddly-formal. Beside him Elros did the same, setting down his knife but holding fast to the little carved elf. 

“Speak not,” Maedhros said, “of that pretender king. He deserves no such honor.” 

“Oh,” Elrond said, biting back his automatic why not, “someone else, then.” 

“Finwë,” Elros repeated, “or Fingolfin.” 

“Very well.” Maedhros nodded, satisfied, and brushed past them into sitting room. Elrond could hear him opening up the windows. Maybe he wished to smoke. 

“Why not?” Elrond asked, turning to Maglor, who was still by the fireplace, sipping idly at a little glass of amber liquid. He had watched them, but apparently seen no reason to intervene. 

Maglor did not answer them for a long enough time that Elrond thought maybe he would not. When he spoke, his low musical voice was quiet, his words carefully selected. 

“Gil-galad claims ownership of something my brother thinks he ought not have,” he said, “something my brother had once had stewardship over, and given to a dear friend. Gil-galad took it on a falsehood, and spoke besides an untruth about that friend and his kin; Maedhros cannot forgive him that.” 

“Oh,” Elros said, looking down at the little statue of the king, “was it a sword?” 

Maedhros had a great many swords, though he only really used two. Maglor called the rest window-dressing. 

“No,” Maglor said, “it was not a sword.” 

Elrond was better than his brother at riddles, but he kept his tongue. His thought was too bright, too exciting to be shared, for he did not want Maglor to prove it wrong.

i'm gonna tag @searchingforserendipity25 @thelordofgifs @starvels @jouissants @dreamingthroughthenoise @melestasflight @swanmaids @grey-gazania @eilinelsghost @polutrope & anyone else who wants to join me in this not-six-sentence not-sunday

join me in a posting a whole-ass scene of your stuff :)

[majorsoapfan]

re: ask game

⭐️ for with the benefit of hindsight :D

Thanks so much for the ask! I'm sorry this took so long, but it's here now and I hope it interests you.

So I'm going to give you the director's cut about Brandy and Tanner's relationship together during With The Benefit Of Hindsight and how I see it.

Now I've always loved it in fics when two characters who share an intense and deep bond, whether it's familial, romantic, or platonic in nature, even more so when their personality traits and the like compliment one another and they act as each other's other half, or the other side of the coin to them. And when I decided to make Brandy and Tanner twins here, that is the direction that I took their characterisation and relationship.

Brandy and Tanner's personalities are more or less, the opposite sides of the same coin. Brandy is the hot-headed twin, the aggressor in fights and the tougher one, she has a short temper and she's not known for her self-control (more so the lack of it). Tanner, in comparison, is the calmer twin, the more trusting and emotional one, and while he might get into fights, he rarely wins them unless Brandy was nearby to act as back-up when things go south.

Both Tanner and Brandy see one another as the one that they have to protect and look out for. For Brandy, it's because she's the elder twin, the stronger one, both physically and emotionally, therefore, she feels the need to protect Tanner, to look out for him and have his back in fights, or to go after those who have beat him up and to comfort him in her own way afterwards.

Tanner feels that he has to protect and look out for Brandy because of her brash nature. Brandy will almost always act first and think later, often resulting in some pretty severe consequences for her, so Tanner often acts as her self- and impulse control, holding her back from her worst impulses or when that fails, sometimes taking on punishments for her actions to try and protect her from people's rising tempers against her.

Tanner and Brandy both see the other as the more useful twin, the stronger and better one in a sense because of the characteristics that the other has, that they themselves lack. Throughout the fic, they both think that if only one of them could go home then better it was the other one due to their personalities' (for Brandy, she feels Tanner deserves it as he wouldn't be the one who would go around causing trouble for their family back home. For Tanner, he feels that it would be better that Brandy went home as due to her emotional resilience, makes her more useful to their family and that someone else can take over as her self-control agent in his place).

Now, ironically, in canon, Brandy and Tanner's respective character flaws and therefore what the other twin serves as, is what causes their deaths in the book/film.

Because, if Tanner had been at the bars with Brandy in canon when she had been taunted by Arachne, he would have acted as her self control and would have stopped Brandy from killing her. And if Brandy had lived long enough to enter the Arena, then she would have been against the alliance with Coral and Mizzen entirely, or if the alliance had still formed, District 4 wouldn't have been able to kill Tanner with Brandy watching his back as she definitely wouldn't have been giving them any trust.

[bitterrobin]

21, 23, 10 for choose vioelnce

10. worst part of fanon -- see I could go specific on this and say: Tim gets whumped so hard that I barely see anything positive of his canon in fics and everyone else around him are made out to suck, and Jason gets put on a pedestal because he serves as an easy counter to Bruce's philosophy and while thats cool he also gets whumped to hell and back. I could say Dick gets utterly fucked over by other fans because they're so willing to overlook his canon traumas in service of emotional/narrative fodder for their favs and Damian will never get to grow up in fandom's eyes because they still think of him as a spoiled psychopath who should've never been born. I could rant about how female characters don't exist to them because misogyny and a fixation on male trauma and that Bruce is never understood. He's either an unnaturally good and kind father who advocates for therapy and acts like a robot reading a parenting manual OR he's the worst abuser and manipulator, so bad that if a kid says they love him they're actually getting Stockholm'd. But all of these claims fall under the same umbrellas. The truth is the worst part of fanon does this: it obsesses over labels and trauma and the right side of an argument like it'll get their favorite character a good grade in "most traumatized abused child vigilante in DC" AND so actively refuses to engage in the source material that those characters they work so hard for aren't even the comic character anymore. Every time I read a fic or a meta that falls under these, I get really confused. That isn't Tim Drake thats Timely Rake. That isn't Dick Grayson thats Ricky Whitedaughter. That isn't Jason Todd thats Jackson Rod. That isn't Damian Wayne thats literally Damien from The Omen. That isn't Bruce Wayne thats his evil twin Brick Water. Unfortunately theres no fixing it because taste and interpretations are subjective, and I think the entire fandom would go down in flames kicking and screaming before we ever tweak popular fanon ideas to be a little more accurate.

21. part of canon you think is overhyped -- i'm going to get crucified for this but everyone slotting into a perfect family dynamic where everyone loves each other and if anything bad happens, a sibling will fix it for them. I'm not exempt from enjoying fluff fics, its how I got into the actual fic/tumblr side of the fandom, but all of these characters have such a depth of history to them that fluff starts to feel like a disservice imo. Bruce and Dick's relationship can be complicated, they aren't just father and son - they're brothers and best friends and partners and (unhealthily) emotionally depend on each other. Bruce and Jason's relationship can be about the father and son who drift apart and maybe never reconcile, they don't have to be constantly around each other and "forgive" each other when all they do is disagree and thats ok. Bruce and Tim can be a complicated tale of hero worship, mentor/mentee and father and son dynamics because for so long Bruce wasn't Tim's dad and that was fine. Thats what makes it more interesting to explore later when Jack dies and Tim gets adopted. Bruce and Cassandra can be dark mirrors to each other, their dynamic as shown in Batgirl was not entirely wholesome. Bruce has expectations of Cassandra he doesn't have of anyone else because he sees himself in her. (Also Barbara is Cassandra's mother figure not just her older sister). Bruce and Damian can be loving and they can be constantly drifting apart and getting close. Canonically, Bruce had little interest and time in being Damian's father the first years of Damian being a character. Thats ok, and we can explore Damian's feelings with that without cramming Dick into the father slot. Dick doesn't have to be Damian's dad, they can be brothers and partners. All of these people existed in different facets of time and space. They shouldn't all be living under the same roof like the Brady Bunch, its just too much. No one has to fill the father role when Bruce isn't, and Bruce is not a perfect nuclear father either. None of the siblings are perfect children or siblings either. None of them are even normal, and I think rivalries and grudges and hatred and jealousy and clashing parenthoods and perspectives are always more interesting than everyone being cardboard cutouts that spout therapy-speak at the right time.

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to -- im not really a shipping type person, tbh. if there are ships I hate because they do a disservice to both characters in that ship (jayroy, jaykory, damijon, damirae) then I'd definitely say I haven't come around to them. I guess I will say I actively hate on damijon less than I used to and come to accept it as an inevitability, but the same cannot be said for specific kinds of damijon fans.

[the-pink-thumb]

Of nuggets, thoug cookies and cherry cobblers

Read in AO3

For @apomaro-mellow , hope you enjoy :)

@steddieholidayexchange

Rating: Teens and Up

No archive warnings apply

Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson,

Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington's Parents, Wayne Munson

Additional tags: Established Relationship, Family Dynamics, Meet the Family, Parent Steve Harrington, Parent Eddie Munson, Foster Parents, Cooking, cooking together

Words: 5125

Summary: Eddie Munson is quite happy with his own family, with Steve Harrington at his side. But when the Harrington family makes a call, he has to choose between run away or face them!

Fic under the cut!

Six nuggets, a motorhome to cross the country and learn to surf near the ocean.

Steve Harrington raised his eyes to the sea, where the sun was slowly going down, and then checked the barbecue he was cooking near the porch. 

Well, the motorhome was there, parked near that Californian paradise. The nuggets were only two, at the moment, and Eddie was soaking them with the waves in the shallow water. The twins were crying for pleasure every time the foam caught them, and Eddie was laughing from the top of his lungs. Then he raised his sight to Steve, who waved at him, and rapidly he collected the kids, ignoring their protest, and then took them one under each arm like potato sacks, made them giggling and squawking under the clean water shower. 

Eddie took the towels and dried the kids. He ruffled their golden hair and then applied them some aftersun and dressed them.

Steve set the camping table and turned the ribs on the barbecue one last time. 

“Ehi, pretty boy” said Eddie, finally drying himself too, with the towel on his head to make everybody laugh. He leaned for a kiss and hugged Steve’s waist. “How’s the cook?”

“Pretty ready,” smiled Steve, enjoying the salty warmness of his boyfriend. “Could you kindly prepare the salad?”

Eddie nodded and called the kids. They entered the motorhome and he heard the noises of three little kids preparing the vegetables, giggling and singing silliness.

Only two nuggets, and not even his’. The agency said that, for the moment, they weren’t eligible for adoption, but they’re good for fostering. Kids with problematic parents, disrupted families, dysfunctional homes that would enter the system otherwise. They gave the kids an opportunity of a normal life with foster families and their parents the opportunity to clean up and regain their children’s custody eventually. 

For Steve, it was the same as raising a “real” child. They already fostered a six year old girl for eight months, until her father could complete the program and claimed custody again. Now they were raising those four year old twins, Bobby and Becky, whose former addicted mother was trying to rehabilitate, stay clean and provide a stable home for them. They were together for almost a year already, Steve knew, and hoped, that they could return with their mommy but this didn’t prevent him from loving them dearly as they were his. And for Eddie it was the same. They finally had good financial stability, a house and a lot of love to give away, and they gladly tried to help kids in need. 

“Good, wash your hands, little worms!” Ordered Eddie, putting the salad on the table. Steve was collecting the ribs on a plate and put them too on the table. 

The kids washed their hands obediently and sat at the table. Eddie served the food to them and they start eating, trying to talk at the same time and tell Steve their afternoon at the beach. Steve barely understood a word, but he was happy at the moment. Eddie put his hand on his’, smiling tenderly to him, and they looked together at the sunset on the vast ocean.

Eddie showered the kids and put them in the bed. He read them a story and Steve went to kiss them goodnight after cleaning the dinner. 

It was really odd and curious that Eddie, who had the greatest difficulty following any sleep routine as a teen, was the most responsible of the parents. He was strict with the kids; he knew how to make them obey, he made them respect their routine and stop every fuss; he wasn’t inflexible, he could always follow the rules without being the bad cop, Steve really couldn’t say how he did it. The kids, especially the twins, had respected his so-called authority from the beginning, and Eddie was able to absolutely spoil and discipline them at the same time. 

Every time Steve thought about it, he fell in love even more. 

Eddie reached him in their chair under the moonlight, lighting a cig. 

“So, you’re still convinced of it?” He said to Steve, after a good drag and a big breath.

Steve tossed the ash of his own cig and nodded. 

“Why not, Eds?”

“You want to discuss it again?”

Steve sighed and took a drag, sipping his beer then. “Nope. You’re right. Yes, I want to go to the party, as I kept saying for days and days, so, yes, I’m still convinced”.

Eddie turned his head and grumbled. “I hate when you do so”.

“Then don’t make me”

Eddie grumbled again, put his cig off and went inside the caravan. Steve heard him changing, then the noise of the camping bed under his weight, and the pages of his journal angrily opened. He sighed one last time, finished the beer and went to bed too. 

“How are you doing?” He asked in a peace offering.

“I’m writing a song, I titled it “I don’t want to go to your ridiculous family gathering, thanks”. It’s almost finished” answered Eddie without raising his head. Steve smiled. He adored the irony Eddie was always able to use even when he was upset.

“Come on, babe…” Eddie looked at him angrily. “Come on, Eddie.  We never met my family and I never insisted, but…”

Eddie muttered and moved a hand to make him shut up. “I know. I already listened to that. Tomorrow it’s our last day of vacation and I don’t want to ruin it”.

Eddie put down the notebook and got under the sheets, turning his back to Steve.

“Oh, come on!” Protested Steve, going near him. He lended a hand on his waist.

Eddie moved a little on the other side. “I don’t want to ruin it either” said Steve, harshly. “Is it better if I sleep on the sofa?”

“Don’t be silly”

“But you don’t want to talk to me or touch me”

Eddie sighed.

“Ok talk” he said dryly. 

“I don’t know what to say, I just want to go visit my family and this time, with you”

Eddie turned towards him, looking at him with a hard look. 

“They never accepted me, and you know. They never accepted the kids, and I don’t want to force them to this”

“And I already said that they changed their mind this time. My father…”

“Yes, we all know that your father is a survivor and now he sees life differently”.

“Can’t you give them a last possibility? Just for me? They really want to make amends, he asked me to apologize. They want you to go to the anniversary and talk to you personally”.

“And the kids?”

“They… want to meet them…”

Eddie grumbled another time, rolling his eyes. 

“I don’t want to remember what they said about adopted children”

“And they regret itI now. They want to tell you directly. Please, Eddie. I am…. I was really worried for my father”.

Eddie shook his head one last time. “But just for you, not for them” he pouted, and Steve smiled sweetly. “Of course. Thanks”

They heard Bobby call with a panicked voice. Becky was pretty good about their mother, but Bobby lately started to have nightmares, especially when they met or had a call with her. Eddie sighed and came out of the bed, glad to have an excuse to go away to Steve.

Steve turned the light on and sat up on the bed, he wanted to wait Eddie after falling asleep to be sure they ended the argument well.

“His family” had always been a taboo between them.

He was madly in love with the man, he fell in love with him in Eddie’s senior year but he accepted it a year or so later, when Eddie himself confessed to him he had a big crush on him when he was the keg king.

The only big fight they had was about Steve’s family. He eventually came out with his parents, but they didn’t accept it at first and not even after some time. They accused Eddie of ruining Steve, to change him into someone he wasn’t and they tried to make them break out. And they succeeded. 

After a year and a half, they planned to move together, but Steve’s parents stopped him, and he wasn’t able to ignore them. They tried to convince him that he needed to find a good girl to start a family, that probably he ended up with Eddie because he was disappointed in the girls in Hawkins. They offered to pay him a trip abroad or an apartment away to try to find someone more suitable. Steve regretted he wasn’t strong enough to run away with Eddie, but he didn’t want to cut off his family entirely. So he and Eddie had that big, giant fight and broke up. Eddie moved away alone and Steve remained in Hawkins, heart broken and feeling really, really stupid.

But he kept thinking about Eddie, despite his parent’s attempts to marry him off with some girls, and another year and a half later, during Thanksgiving holidays, he met Eddie again and knew that his feelings had never changed, and, luckily for him, nor Eddie’s. This time he was firm with his family, he protected his relationship with Eddie and when the time came, he moved in with him in Portland. His parents never accepted Eddie, although they stopped trying to separate them. Eddie tried to visit once, but they were really cold and rude so he didn't try again. 

Then Steve’s father got cancer and Steve was really worried for him. Eddie, really proud, refused to go to visit him, and Steve didn’t insist. He visits every now and then alone, but now, after the recovery, they wanted to throw a big party for their 35th wedding anniversary, and for the first time they insisted on having Eddie too, and even the kids. Clearly Eddie was cautious and they had to argue a lot of times. 

Yes, they only fighted about Steve’s family, and he didn’t like it.

Eddie returned with a little smile on his face. “I hope he can sleep the rest of the night, we have to sing the spider some more time than I like”.

Steve smiled too. He looked Eddie in the eyes, waiting for him to resume the discussion. Eddie sighed, returning under the sheets.

“You want me to apologize?” Eddie asked, in a plain tone.

“Of course not! But… I want us to go to sleep in peace”.

“I already said that I will go, for you. I am just worried for the kids. Are you sure? We can manage otherwise if…”

“No,” said Steve firmly. “They have to accept my family as a whole, or nothing. The kids and you are my family over my parents. It’s the last occasion, ok?”

“Ok… but at the first bad signal we will go away without looking back”.

Steve sighed and nodded. He remembered how he cried for anger and frustration when he announced to his parents that they wanted to start the adoption process: that they wouldn’t accept some abandoned, rejected kid as their grandchild. That blood was thicker than water and their lineage dated back to the pilgrims and so on. Steve left thinking it was the last time, but then his father fell sick. Eddie was still offended by their prejudices about fostering and adopting kids, he maybe could negotiate their opinion about him but surely wouldn’t expose innocent kids to two old racist white dumbs.

“Deal. I will support you no matter what, I promise”.

Eddie nodded. “So enjoy our last holiday night” he smiled, and opened his arms to accommodate Steve on his chest. 

“I love you,” Steve said.

“I know”.

They barely talked about the family gathering on the trip to Hawkins. The kids really loved the landscape of the highway and sleeping in campings along the way with every kind of different person. Eddie liked it too, he was good at knowing strangers and they had a good time singing in the caravan and talking with interesting people. 

They decided to stop previously at Wayne's to spend a couple of days with him and meet Steve’s parents alone before the anniversary. 

Wayne already met the kids at Christmas in Portland, and he just loved them with his simple, no-frills way. They liked him in return and were absolutely delighted to play in his garden.

That day, Eddie put the kids on a nap and went to the garage to check a little noise that only he heard in the caravan. 

“It will take a little,’” smiled Wayne when he left. He fished from the pantry some cans of cherry. “And now you will have the time to say what is eating you away.”

Steve blushed and raised an eyebrow. Differently from his parents, Wayne never had problems accepting them as a couple since the first time. He didn't say a word about their break up and their return, and simply loved Steve because Eddie loved him. He was more than happy about fostering and in future adopting kids, he himself had been a foster parent and was really, really proud of Eddie wanting to share his luck with some unfortunate kid. 

Steve wasn’t sure that rant about the situation was a good idea. He kept washing the dishes in silence for a while.

Waye waited politely, opening and drying the cherries.

“It’s… Eddie and I had a sort of… argument… about my family. A few arguments, in fact,” he looked Wayne in the eyes. “Oh, but… but obviously we won’t split up again…” Wayne giggled a little. “My family… well maybe I’m reconsidering meeting them with Eddie… and the kids”.

Wayne nodded, silent again.

“It’s the last possibility, I swear… but my father had… had that thing, and I… I really wish I wouldn’t have to choose, really”.

“And Eddie is not ok with it?”

“He was since the beginning, and now I’m not sure I did right dragging them here”

“And he is upset about it, right?”

“You noticed?”

Wayne giggled again. He could read his kid with a glance, despite the fact that he was now a grown up man and he lived far away. 

“And there is the kids thing…” started Steve, uncertain if to tell him that too. He, despite everything, didn't want him to judge his family too hard.

“Let me guess, they don't agree with you adopting children… they want grandchildren of their blood, don't they?”

Steve washed the last dish and nodded, grabbing the counter with white knuckles.

“Don’t judge them, they don’t…”

“Oh I don't judge. You know perfectly what I think about fostering and adopting kids. But I want you to know a thing, and it will be the one and last time I say this: I have to protect Eddie and his family, of blood or adoption, and I will if needed”.

Steve nodded. 

“But you know, otherwise I will always try to make you all happy, and if you want, I will share with you a little trick to make Eddie smile”.

Wayne blinked to Steve, and he looked curiously at the man. He grabbed a cherry can.

“Cherry cobbler”. 

Eddie entered the door of Wayne’s home and stopped suddenly, sniffing deeply.

“Cherry cobbler…” he whispered entering the kitchen, and looking straight to Wayne. He understood what his uncle was trying to do, and thanked him silently. 

“I need a smoke” said the man, grabbing his cigarettes and going out of the room. Steve was whisking the batter and stopped, looking at Eddie too.

“Wayne and I always did it when I was angry and upset,” smiled Eddie, eating a cherry. “He always could calm me and make me talk while preparing this”.

“And it will help now?”

Eddie smiled. “Let’s try”.

He took control of the batter and Steve cutted the cherries. They intertwined hands when they poured the mix in the mold, and they talked, and smiled. Eddie felt really relieved at the end, just as Wayne knew. Wayne came in again with the kids who just finished their nap. 

Eddie and Steve took them in their arms. 

“It smells good, Steve,” said Becky, grabbing his head with a kiss.

“Smells really good,” nodded Wayne, looking at Eddie and smiling. 

Eddie looked at Steve, thinking, and biting his lip a little. 

“What if… what do you think if we do one more… for tomorrow?”

“Do you mean…”

“As an offer. As a sign of good will?”

Steve nodded and hugged him. “Thank you” he whispered and kissed him.

“They kisses…” giggled Becky and covered her face with her hands.

Eddie had Bobby in one hand and the cobbler in the other. He had a belligerent expression on his face, and he grabbed the kid’s hand like he wanted to use him as a shield. Steve had Becky in his arms when he rang the bell of Harrington’s mansion.

The maid opened and let them enter the living room. Harrigton Senior was sitting in his armchair and his wife on the sofa. She got up, he remained seated.

“Hello, Steve,” said his mother. “Eddie, dear, welcome” continued with a certain insecurity.

“Hi, Monica”, said Eddie, aloof, holding the cobbler proudly.

“And you are…” said the woman to the kids.

“Come on, wormies, this is Steve’s mother. Let's be polite and shake her hand,” said Eddie to the kids, who were a little scared. He could be angry with them, but he wanted to try not to influence the kids. 

“Hi,” said the kids, serious, but friendly.

“And he is my dad,” smiled Steve, pointing to his dad. “Hi, dad”.

“Hi son” he finally stood up. He smiled at the kids, a little worried too, but with a promising expression. “Hi kids. I’m your… Can I…?”

Steve shook his head. “No,” he mimicked.

“I’m Steven '' concluded Steve Senior, shaking the hands of the kids. Maybe it could be better a kiss, like the several they gave to Wayne, but Eddie and Steve wanted to be a little cautious, just in case things came out bad.

The conversation was a little weak at first. Eddie and Steve sat on the sofa in front of the parents, like in a trial, with the worried and silent kids on their laps. They just shared some useless chat about their recent trip in California and Steve’s mother just asked some polite questions.

“Can we offer something to you?” Finally said the woman, desperate to find a topic.

“We did a cherry cobbler together,” answered Eddie.

“Oh, great! I will check if we had some ice cream for that. "The woman took the cake and went to the kitchen, returning a little later with two large bags in hands.

“The maid will take care of the treat,” she said to the expectant kids. “We… we bought some presents for you,” she lent the bags to the kids. They find some illustrated books in the first, and they politely thanked and asked Eddie what the books were about. Eddie thanked the Harringtons too with a composed smile, then they grabbed the other bag. 

There were clothes. Some packets of silly socks, a little suit for the boy and an elegant dress for the girl. Eddie looked at the clothes and then to the kids, who at that moment were wearing matching Iron Maiden little t-shirts. 

Harrington senior then lent him a long box. He saw a decorated tie, with little sort of stars and dots, and looked to them interrogatively, then looked to Steve, who apparently were aware at least of that last present.

“If you think I will wear something like this at your gathering, you’re really wrong. And I won’t dress up my kids like dolls just to please some stranger,” he said harshly.

The Harringtons widened their eyes and mouths, but in that moment the maid served the cobbler. The kids forgot the present and attacked their plates, kneeling near the coffee table.

“We… we didn’t intend to force any of you to dress anything,” said Steve’s mother. “They’re just… presents,” she searched Steve’s eyes for help.

“Thanks mom, we appreciate them. It’s true, Eddie?”

“Of course,” muttered him while sipping his coffee.

“You can wear anything you want to the party tomorrow,” insisted Monica, trying to fix things.

Eddie nodded, unimpressed. The kid finished eating and he cleaned their hands and faces with a napkin.

“Kids, do you want to see the pool?” Asking Eddie standing up. He looked at Steve and he nodded. It was evident that Eddie needed a break already.

He took the kids' hands and they went out to the garden.

“He’s a tough cookie,” grumbled Steve’s dad. Steve puffed.

“You didn’t make things easy for him,” he answered dryly. “He is hurted and protective of the kids”.

“We just want to fix things,” said Monica, looking to his husband, nodding. “We want him to know we are sorry, and want his forgiveness, and make him… them… part of the family”.

“I appreciate it, mum, but he needs to hear it from you directly. And I can’t guarantee it would be easy, he knows what you think about adopting kids”.

Harrington senior blushed a little. He opposed fiercely to adopting, for blood reasons, but the cancer and the life danger made him rethink about a lot of things.

“We changed our mind,” he said. “I changed my mind. Of course, I still want a grandchild…”

“Dad,” interrupted Steve. Steven sr nodded. 

“Ok, you’re right. I changed my mind, that’s all. I will… I will accept your family”.

“The kids are adorable,” said Monica, willing to please Steve.

“Eddie is adorable with them,” Steve answered. “He is a wonderful father”.

Monica and Steven nodded.

“Eddie, would you like to come inside again?”

Steve went to collect his family around the pool. The kids were delighted, but Eddie was sitting there with a serious expression, and Steve didn't read it as a good sign.

“You always have a secret purpose when you talk so politely,” he said without smiling.

“I know. My parents want you to come back with the kids”.

“If they think to butter me up with some clown clothes and a hideous tie, they’re really wrong,” he answered, without any sign to move.

“It wasn’t their idea. That tie is the one my father wore when he met my mom’s parents for the first time. It’s… precious for him”.

Eddies scoffed.

“They’re trying to say you’re welcome in our family”.

“If only they told me it in the face…”

“They want to do it. They want to apologize in front of you. Please, come back to talk with them”.

Eddie pursed his lips.

“Look, I know it’s difficult and it won’t be immediate, but just give them a chance”.

“I don’t want to wear that thing tomorrow, nor to dress my kids up like a preppy clown,” he continued harshly.

“They didn’t mean it. They’re just presents, to show good will. So come now?” Steve smiled and lent a hand to him. Eventually Eddie shrugged his shoulders and grabbed it.

“Thanks,” said Steve, smiling. Eddie called the kids and they came inside together.

“Did you enjoy the pool, kids?” Answered Monica. “If you stay a few days more, we can prepare it to swim a little. It’s heated”.

Eddie licked nervously his lips, standing in the middle of the living room. He had the face of someone who didn’t want to bear more bullshit.

“Eddie, sit down, please,” said Steve,nervous himself.The kids sat in a corner looking at their new books. Eddie sat.

“Eddie, we… we want to apologize for… for our behavior in the last… years,” Monica cleared her throat. 

“We want to welcome you into the family, if you want to forgive us. We want you and the kids to meet all the family tomorrow, and of course… feel free to wear whatever you want,” continued Steven.

Eddie was surprised, he frankly didn’t expect Harringtons to be sincere, but he couldn’t say anything against them at the moment.

He nodded, and let go of an accent of a smile that warmed Steve's heart a lot. 

“We’ll see tomorrow then,” he said at the end of the afternoon, when they went away to return to Wayne’s house.

Eddie had a lot to think about that night. He put the kids to sleep while Steve was helping Wayne to clean the dishes. Then he enjoyed some homemade liquor on the patio with his uncle while Steve had a shower before bed. 

“A penny for your thoughts, kid”. 

Eddie sipped a little from his glass, then told almost everything to Wayne. He didn’t particularly appreciate the Harringtons, and he politely expressed his surprise about their change of mind.

“I always thought Steve came in a package with his family, whether you like it or not. Whether he liked it or not,” he added, and Eddie nodded. Steve had grown apart of his family for him, but he always suffered from it. “He did a lot for you regarding them, and I think you have to make steps for him too”.

Eddie snorted a little. Wayne always said so many things with so few words. He understood everything, and he nodded.

 

The twins were sitting on the sofa in their new clothes, looking like little preppy dolls, and Steve was trying to put their shoes on. He was happy that Eddie didn’t fuss about the clothes, on the contrary, he decided spontaneously to dress the kids in that way. The dresses didn’t really suit their kids, but it was just a signal from Eddie.

“Stevie? Honey? Could you come and help me?” Eddie called from the bedroom.

Steve went there, and he melted, blushing with his heart running very quickly. 

Eddie was wearing a light gray suit that seemed just a little small for him, and tried to work his Harrington tie, shaking his head. “I need help, I can’t do it”.

“Oh Eddie,” Steve smiled looking at him, grabbing his hand. “Thanks,” he whispered, kissing him lightly. 

“Nonsense,” smiled Eddie, blushing in return.

Steve fixed the tie, and hugged him.

Steve’s parents welcomed them really warmly when they came to the party. Steve’s father looked at Eddie’s tie and firmly grabbed his hand, smiling warmly at him. They let the kids play with the other family’s kids and they grab a glass of champagne. Eddie felt a little overwhelmed by Steve’s extended family, and intimidated for all the introductions, but they introduced him as Steve’s partner without euphemisms ,and Steve didn’t leave his side. His presence didn’t seem as a big deal as he thought so he could enjoy the buffet and the drinks.

“Steve, please, come there, Auntie Bertha wants to greet you”.

Steve snorted a little. Aunt Bertha was the matriarch of the family since her sister’s, Steve’s senior mother, death. He was nearly 80, in a wheelchair, and she had obviously old opinions about modern things. They didn’t tell her exactly Steve’s way of life, but they met once one of her daughters and he suspected that she knew. He really didn’t want to hear a lecture about homosexuality and corruption of morality, but he at least needed to pay his respects.

Steve sat at her side, with his parents near.

“Those kids are yours?”

Steve scoffed a little. “They’re foster kids, Auntie”

“Oh, so that tall woman isn’t their mother? Is she your wife?”

“No, Auntie, he’s not their mother, he’s a man and he is my partner”.

“And you don’t have kids of your own?”

Steve scoffed again, trying to remain calm.

“No, Auntie, we can’t adopt kids at the moment, we are not married”

Bertha nodded thoughtfully.

“So she’s not your wife?”

Steve tried not to get madI, she was old and probably didn’t understand everything. But he decided not to hide anything, and his parents were there just listening, he was surprised they didn’t try to stop him.

“He is a man, Auntie. He’ my partner, we live together, but we’re not married”

“Oh, yes, I think you told me something like this…” Bertha looked at Steven senior. He nodded. “And you live with a man? That…”

“Eddie, Auntie. Well, I think I have to go, now…” said Steve, starting to feel a little nervous.

“Your Grandma Mary always hoped you would marry sooner or later… why aren't you married?”

Steve stood, moving a step to the door. “At the moment we…”

“And don’t you want your own kids?”

“Auntie, I’m sorry, I have to go…”

“Steve and Eddie can’t adopt kids if they’re not married, Auntie,” explained Steven senior, sweetly.

“Oh, right,” nodded the old woman. “So you'd better not wait, right?”

Steve looked at his parent’s faces. He felt strange and he felt like he didn't understand.

“Marry him,” added the old woman. She took something from her pocket. Steve’s mother took it from her hands and gave it to Steve. 

Steve opened the little box. 

He found his Grandma's ring. He looked at his parents, puzzled and holding his breath.

“Granny wanted it for your fiance,” said his mother. Steven senior went to arrange again Auntie Bertha’s dress, and his mother walked Steve away. 

“We explained things to Auntie before, but I think she didn’t get it all… You ok?”

“It’s your idea? Dad’s too?”

She nodded. “You know, he still wants grandchildren,” she smiled. 

Steve put the box in the pocket and smiled.

 

The kids fell asleep on one of the big sofas, so they put them sleeping in the car. Steve drove slowly down the town, and at a certain point he took a different way. 

He stopped near the houseboats on the lake, and Eddie looked at him, confused. 

“Do you remember where we had our first kiss?” Eddie nodded. “Let’s have a look, come on”, he added, getting out of the car.

He took Eddie’s hand in the dark, only the moon was lighting the place.

“What’s happening, Steve?” 

Steve kissed Eddie, sweetly, as they kissed there for the first time, so shy and worried and shivering. He took the box from his pocket, and knelt.

 

“Eddie?” Whispered Bobby, waking up in the backseat. Steve was driving with a big smile on his face.

“We’re almost at home, honey, keep sleeping” Eddie reached him caressing his cheek; an engagement ring, maybe too girlish between all his skulls and crosses, shined on the road lights. 

Bobby closed his eyes again, and Eddie looked again at his ring, kissed it, and then grabbed Steve’s hand on the gear.  They blushed together.

[ikeprincest]

Hi, I'm just curious, what made you ship the princes with each other? This trope is usually frowned upon and is considered taboo, but I just want to know what attracted you to incest

:O *excited noises* Thanks for the kind phrasing, anon! Also thanks for the chance to walk you through my feelings on the ships

First off, it's just a bad(?) habit of mine to ship the love interests together in otomes. (Might be because I'm a trans guy, tbh. I have no issue playing as a girl if it's my only option, and in fact some of my favorite visual novels are otomes) Also, really, incest shipping isn't an issue to me, since it's fiction, but I also don't seek out incestuous ships intentionally - the characters have to have good chemistry, related or not.

It started with goddamn Yves and Licht. Yves' fussing over Licht that could be seen in some scenes really had me in a headlock, and for a while they were my only real ship in IkePri.

Then, though, I started imagining other ships. For instance Nokto and Sariel (not the same thing as pairing the princes together, but I love them) are a duo I imagine hand-in-hand with Yves and Licht (world's most awkward double date. Your twin and your half-brother, vs you and a guy who used to babysit all of you). I also thought that Clavis/Chevalier would be interesting since I already enjoy what little parts of their dynamic I see now (haven't gotten around to playing either of their routes, but I think Clavis might be next) and it'd be funny to see either Clavis' teasing/jokes turning more flirtatious to a deadpan Chevalier, or Chevalier just bluntly returning those comments in a way that has Clavis turning beet red somehow

("Clavis, why do you want to switch to the Domestic Faction?"

"Because my alternative is to tell Chevalier I want him to step on me next time he calls me a fool."

"What?"

"I said none of your business.")

My decision to make this blog, and the interactive fic series, didn't really solidify until recently. When the Yves & Licht & Nokto collection event was up and running was around the time I was toying with letting them be an OT3 in my head, which I basically took as a sign from the universe to be a 'go-ahead' in that area.

At some point, then, I was noticing other ships I liked. Leon/Luke was one that I toyed with after reading a spoiler about the former's route (the prince who's not a prince vs the prince who didn't know he was a prince) and plan on including in the initial release of the main interactive fic. Jin/Luke I started giving eyeball emojis to as I got further into Luke's route, and I feel like Clavis/Nokto would bang if they thought it'd piss off the right person/thought it'd just be fun in some way.

This isn't my first time doing something like this, though it is the first time doing it outside of my main gamedev account. But I have a rule I stick to: Even if I don't particularly care for a ship, if I make it a public project and I know there's people who'd want to see the ship, I will put the ship in. So not all of the ships I'll include in either the main or side stories are one I might care for a whole lot, but I'll include them because of that rule. I do my best to keep them up to par with the ones I like, though - I've actually been told before that my writing for ships I don't care much for sometimes turns out better, which is weird to think about.

...TL;DR: I don't actually ship all the princes with each other. But the ones I do, it's because of chemistry, or because I like the way they interact, or even just because I like imagining how they'd get together/be as a couple. Really, that's all it is - that's the same way I end up shipping all my ships.

[lxkeee]

Hiiii!! This is my first time talking to you besides being asked to be put on the taglist! Anyhoo I had something to say but first

I am literally in love with your ask thing saying “ask away sweetheart” and with the apple??? How freaking cute!!

Hehe now I wanted to send bundles of praise! Your Two Sides of the Same Coin Fic… it’s freaking gorgeous! THATS really the sum up of my feelings I have been fantasizing about the directions you could take this story in between every time you post! It’s so freaking good!

And Iove how you made the characters so true to themselves but still adding your own creative flare to them too like Lucifer! Oh my golly… I’m literally obsessed!

Now that I have said what I said thank you for your time! And I hope you have a very nice weekend! Sending lots of love and comfort 🫶🏻

Helloo to you too:> and for the ask button, I'm glad you liked them^^ I was actually having second thoughts on what to put as an an ask button:3 and ended up with "Ask away, sweetheart 🍎" cuz I thought that's a very Lucifer thing to say hehehe.

I'm glad TSOTSC ended up being one of really good fics, even though I didn't really plan out how I want it to go and I'm just making things up each chapter hahahaha but I clearly enjoyed writing it:> I'm trying not to make the characters ooc as much as possible._. as of the moment, I don't know how many chapters the story will have but all I'm sure of is that it's far from ending, still so much emotional baggage to unpack between the family and I'm planning to make the genre even darker^°^! [Happy]

This is a journey that both you readers and I will take together cuz I'm just randomly adding stuff to it hehehehe. I'll have to do even better when it comes to world building because the story around the heavenly beings is chaotic and unplanned aahh...

Still debating whether to add a certain twin as a love interest;)

Anyways, thank you for taking the time to send this ask^^ hope your weekend was enjoyable too:)

[nekoannie-chan]

Loop

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!Reader.

Word count: 1146 words.

Summary: Will you find out who is trying to kill you?

Warnings: Evil twin, time loop, death of a character.

A/N: This my entry to @the-slumberparty:

" Evil twin but with time loop."

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou  @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @smokeandnailz​  @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae  @harrysthiccthighss @marvelatthisone​ @caplanbuckybarnes​ @sapphire-rogers​ @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose​  @hallecarey1​ @nana1000night​ @talia-rumlow​ @writingshae​ @alexxavicry​ @azulatodoryuga​ @daemonslittlebitch​ @chaoticcollectivenightmare​

You opened your eyes when you heard the clock ticking; you had a familiar feeling. You didn't remember staying at Steve's house last night, but that had been two nights before.

When you woke up, even your mind felt foggy; you couldn't remember exactly what you had done the day before, but the smell of the bread Steve was heating in the oven distracted you, and you felt unusually hungry.

The rest of the day passed quietly. Perhaps you had a nightmare or some kind of strange dream, and your mind processed it as if it had been true.

A noise alerted you. You and Steve were not supposed to see each other that night, so something was not right. You grabbed your gun and carefully went downstairs, but you immediately dropped it when you saw that a small fire had started in the living room. Although you did not remember lighting candles, when you tried to put them out, through the reflection of the window, you saw someone approaching you, and then everything went dark.

You woke up startled, you could remember the fire the night before, only it was not the night before, but the same day?

You hadn't even been able to get a good look at the person who had been there, but you immediately dismissed Steve. No, he would never hurt you. Or would he?

The day went on just like the one you had already experienced, except that when you left work, maybe if you walked, you would have a chance to see if anyone came into your house.

Halfway down the road, the strange sensation reappeared, and you started to run, realizing that someone was really following you, so you had to run away. The conditions were not favorable to face him, so you had to get away as fast and as soon as possible.

You stopped for a moment to catch your breath. Maybe you had been running for ten minutes or maybe more; it didn't matter; you didn't keep track. The only thing you wanted was to escape from the person who was chasing you. Until you realized that stopping had been a bad idea when you felt a sharp pain in your side and then saw how your clothes got soaked in that area.

You opened your eyes and shook your head; again, you were repeating the day; however, instead of getting up and going down to the kitchen, where you knew Steve was preparing breakfast, you began to analyze everything that had happened; you had to understand what was happening.

Everything seemed to indicate that someone was looking for you and killing you, but who could it be?

Steve was not; he had been with you at least a few times before the day restarted and you were attacked.

It was already the fifth or sixth time, maybe; you didn't keep track of how many times it had happened, and you were starting to get tired of the situation, so it was time to face it. You didn't know why someone wanted to kill you or hurt you, but you were going to find out.

You came up with a plan: instead of that person waiting for you, you would be the one waiting.

As soon as you saw the figure coming towards you, you knew the moment had arrived. When he tried to attack you, you defended yourself, and when you managed to subdue your attacker, there was something that caught your attention too much.

You immediately recognized the bracelet, you could not believe it, it had never occurred to you what could happen, everyone had chosen their own way.

"What the fuck?" you said when you realized it, and the other person took advantage of the situation to let go of your grip.

"It's obvious which one of us is the smart one," your twin said.

You turned around. You were sure there must be some good reason, although it wasn't clear to you, not after the last argument you had, which was also the last time you saw each other. "I thought you didn't want to see me again; you were too clear; I still remember all your words," you said to your twin.

"I never thought you were going to get something I wanted."

"You were the one who quit S.H.I.E.L.D.; you never liked following orders."

"Don't be a jerk; I'm not talking about your position; I'm talking about Rogers."

"I thought you liked Rumlow."

"He turned out to be a jerk, too."

You managed to grab it again. You were going to stop whatever was going on; you didn't want to restart the day again.

"Y/N? "The voice was familiar.

You both turned around; Steve was there, standing in front of you, looking very confused.

"Which one of you is Y or N?" he asked without taking his eyes off them.

"Me!" both of you answered in unison.

"Steve, you know me."

"Steve, believe me," your twin said.

"What was the gift I gave you on our first anniversary?" Steve asked.

You smiled; you knew the answer, but your twin didn't. You hadn't had communication for many years, so your twin knew almost nothing about your relationship with Steve.

"I'm tired of this; you've always hated me," you said, and you knocked your twin unconscious.

"I didn't know you had a twin," Steve commented, moving closer.

"I thought you had read my file; yes, I have a twin, but we never got along, not even when we were children. Your twin has always wanted everything I want or achieve. Your twin also works at S.H.I.E.L.D., and several times they tried to make us a team, but your twin always sabotaged everything you said while making sure your twin was going to attack us.

"What do you want us to do?"

"I think about the Raft."

You felt the sun on your face, it was already dawn, but you were afraid to open your eyes and that the day would repeat itself again, but you had to do it, even if you stayed in bed. Slowly you opened your eyes—it was not the ceiling of Steve's bedroom, but of yours, and you started to laugh. Finally, time had recovered its course, and you also checked the calendar and saw that it was already the next day.

Your phone rang, and you had to go and tell your version of what happened to make the report as well as to justify your twin's stay at the Raft.

As you left your house, you felt the sunshine on your face more intensely, and you lifted it a little more to enjoy the sensation. After what you had experienced in the last few days or hours, whatever it was, the best thing was to enjoy the little things in life.

[password-door-lock]

What would you like to see next in the Glow-in-the-Dark universe?

I still have a lot of ideas for this au even after finishing the fic so I wanted to put out a poll to see what people are most interested in potentially reading about in the future. I'll put a little blurb for each idea below the cut for context!

Context below the cut! It will absolutely spoil the end of Glow-in-the-Dark, but any of these will be perfectly functional as stand-alone fics if people are interested.

(These reader characters are all different characters, and none of them are the same person as the MC from Glow-in-the-Dark proper).

King Yoosung x reader In this universe, Yoosung has just been unexpectedly crowned King. He's spent his life caring for birds in the royal aviary with the expectation that he'd be a prince forever. He's not interested in the throne, but he understands that accepting the crown was the best choice for his kingdom and people. Now, on the brink of war, he must quickly learn how to rule. Will you show him that he's a person first and a monarch second?

King Saeyoung x reader Days ago, Royal Wizard Luciel performed a risky spell to absorb his brother's magic powers, including the curse that he carried. Then, Luciel was called to take the throne as the kingdom's Second Monarch as part of a strategy to protect himself and Saeran. As he adjusts to his new throne, his new powers, and the fraught political situation, Saeyoung begins to struggle with the secrets he carries. Will you be the one he spills them out for?

Royal Advisor Jaehee x reader As Diplomatic Advisor to King Yoosung, Jaehee is diligent and highly involved in all of the kingdom's affairs. It falls to her to mitigate the conflict with a neighboring kingdom--- only, that involves convincing too very secretive twins to divulge secrets that they've clung to for years, as well as divulging a few secrets of her own. As her job becomes progressively more stressful, Jaehee retreats to the woods often for the solitude and peace that she can't find in the palace. Will you walk with her as she forges her own path forward in a world that demands so much of her?

Royal Advisor Jumin x reader Jumin was absolutely blindsided by his best friend's abdication. As he learns more and more about Rika's betrayal and her relationship with V, he struggles not to blame himself. After all, he was the Domestic Advisor to both monarchs--- shouldn't he have picked up on the tension between them? He can't help but feel that he could have done something more. To distract himself from his thoughts, Jumin decides to organize a cat festival, with the full blessing of King Luciel. Will you encourage him to indulge in life's small joys as he heals from the betrayal?

Knight Zen x reader As Captain of the royal guard, Zen is dedicated to preparing for war. His objective is to protect the monarchs, the palace, and the kingdom at all costs. He isn't interested in the diplomatic side of things--- he's interested in making sure that the people he loves are protected and taken care of. But his courage and skill can't protect him against the magic his enemy wields, and he'll need all the help he can get to defend the kingdom. Will you fight for him the way he fights for those he loves?

Secret 7th option Yooseven

[ruvviks]

trembling hands for vitali? 👀👀

TREMBLING HANDS [x] characters >> nick vossler (oc), vitali dobrynin (oc) context >> november 2067; it's the morning after this fic takes place, vitali is in college and in general not dealing with everything that's going on in his life well total >> 2.2k words warnings >> alcohol mention, drugs mention, nick being a bit of a dick in general, nsfw mention, portrayal of a toxic relationship (these men make each other worse)

The old and decrepit apartment building in the Glen was freezing cold. Not all that surprising for that time of the year; and stacking overdue electric bills had put an end to Vitali’s access to the place’s central heating, but he was not allowed to complain. If anything, he was lucky to still be able to call it his home at all to begin with.

He woke up with a throbbing headache and a heavy weight pressing down on his chest, and despite the good amount of sleep he had managed to get he still found himself struggling to properly wake up. His ailments were the result of mostly dehydration- though taking the amount of drugs and alcohol in his system the night before, it was safe to assume it was not the only problem at play.

Vitali rarely suffered terrible hangovers. Nothing a glass of water and an ibuprofen couldn’t fix; and whenever he had classes the next morning he still always showed up on time, wearing his best fake smile as always and a mood that was still of questionable quality but never worse than it usually was.

Though that morning was different.

The bleak sunlight that poured in from underneath the curtain of the single window in the living room barely raised the temperature inside his apartment. All it did was cast a single, bright ray of sunshine directly into Vitali’s eyes, an annoyance greater than his comfort on the twin size mattress on the floor to the point he found himself unable to fall back asleep.

He groaned and carefully rolled himself on his side, dragging the covers with him as he slowly attempted to get up. His entire body was sore; had not slept in the greatest position, but the sex he’d had with Nick the night before- pressed against the wall of the expensive nightclub’s hallway- had absolutely not helped either, and the moment he finally managed to stand up he nearly sank through his knees again from the pain in his upper right leg.

Consequences of his own actions.

Vitali knew better than to wallow in his misery, well aware he had caused it entirely himself, no one else to blame. It was not as if he would learn; next week he would make the same old mistakes all over again, a broken record doomed to play on repeat until his trembling hands would lose their grip entirely and he would spiral down into a freefall.

He managed to find his way to the kitchen, still wrapped in the covers as he opened one of the mismatched cupboards to look for a clean cup; could not find any and instead took a dirty one out of the sink, rinsing it a few times before pouring himself some apple juice.

His gaze caught his phone as he brought the glass to his lips, the cracked and dirty screen lighting up from the kitchen countertop beside his keys and wallet and showing- nineteen unread messages and eleven missed calls?

‘What the fuck?’ he mumbled under his breath, lowering the glass again and setting it back as he grabbed his phone instead, blanket over his shoulders dropping down on the floor.

Unsurprisingly so, all of it was Nick’s doing. It would not be the first time he had obsessively tried to get Vitali’s attention; far from it, in fact, a man desperate for validation as well as forgiveness each and every time he had done something wrong. Though as far as Vitali was concerned, nothing out of the ordinary had happened when they’d seen each other in the club- and his curiosity was winning over his exasperation.

Naturally, he did not hesitate when Nick’s name popped up in the middle of his screen again.

‘What do you fucking want?’ Vitali asked, voice possibly a little harsher than he had meant for as he quickly pulled his half-opened flannel back over his exposed shoulder when he heard loud knocking on the front door. Nick did not respond at first- and Vitali quickly figured out why, swinging the door open and instantly being met with the other man, holding up his own phone with an annoyed frown on his face.

‘Eleven fuckin’ times, V,’ he said, lowering his hand at the same time as Vitali did. ‘What’s wrong with you?’

‘Twelve, actually, counting this one,’ Vitali simply spat back, demonstratively hanging up and tossing his phone back on the kitchen counter from where he stood. ‘And you’re the one showing up at my place at fuck o’clock in morning.’

‘It’s two in the afternoon!’

‘Same thing.’

Nick cursed under his breath and stepped inside, tugging on Vitali’s flannel- drawing a protesting, somewhat startled scoff from his lips- to then button it all the way to the top.

‘You need to learn to put on some clothes,’ he muttered, brushing some of Vitali’s hair out of his face to prevent it from getting stuck between the buttons. A surprisingly gentle touch; Vitali sometimes forgot he was still capable of that, after everything that had happened.

‘I’m wearing clothes.’ Vitali paused, noticing Nick’s eyeroll and he punched his shoulder in response, not too hard but not being playful either. ‘Comfort of my own home! Get out if you don’t like it.’

‘More clothes,’ Nick sneered, gesturing at Vitali’s mostly naked legs. ‘And wear ‘em properly. I could see your tits.’

‘So? You’ve seen them before. Did not hear you complain yesterday.’

‘It’s freezing in here!’

‘What’s your fucking point, Nick?!’

Vitali’s voice nearly echoed through the whole hallway behind the other man and silence washed over the apartment, both of them taking a few steps back at the same time. Vitali watched as Nick clenched his jaw and briefly turned around to close the front door, then vaguely gestured around into the room.

‘Was worried,’ he said, and shrugged. ‘Didn’t hear anything from you when I texted if you got home safely. Jackie couldn’t tell me where you were. Jen has me blocked now, wasn’t of any fuckin’ use either- no idea what that’s all about. Where did you go?’

Vitali was not entirely sure how to answer him.

He could barely remember it, was the truth. Everything that had happened after he had walked away from Nicky in that sweaty and suffocating hallway was merely a blur to him now, though he did remember spending another good hour or two stumbling around before he had been able to find his way to the exit.

He vaguely remembered the rain; could vaguely recall getting soaked and taking a cab elsewhere, the air-conditioning inside freezing him down to the bone. He had not gone home yet- had needed more to be able to forget, to wash off the feeling of Nick’s hands on his body and to drown out the voice in his head screaming at him to stop and go home, get his act together while he still could.

‘Took the long way home, I guess,’ he finally managed to say, hesitance dripping from his lips with each and every word he spoke and Nick’s eyes narrowed a little.

‘Couldn’t find a moment to text me back?’ he asked.

‘Did not think you’d care.’

‘Oh, that’s foul.’

‘Usually you don’t. I don’t know what you want me to say.’

Another silence as a sharp, exasperated sigh left Nick’s lips and he averted his gaze to the ceiling. Acting annoyed, but on the losing end- Vitali was right and both parties knew that very well, Nick’s sudden concern entirely out of the blue considering he usually left his phone off for several days after an argument.

‘Why are you really here?’ Vitali asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest and taking another step back, keeping as much distance between himself and the other man as possible. Not out of fear; moreso disgust, unable to believe he’d let Nick do whatever he wanted to him, again, the money much needed but the aftermath and the memories of it embarrassing him to his core in a way he hadn’t even known was possible.

Maybe Jenny was right this time.

Not as if that mattered much. She hadn’t reached out to him at all anymore.

‘I just- wanted to apologize for yesterday,’ Nick mumbled in response. ‘Wasn’t all too nice to you, from what I remember.’

‘You weren’t, no.’ Vitali paused, licked his lips, and gestured at Nick. ‘Go ahead. Apologize.’

‘I just did.’

‘You didn’t.’

‘Fucking hell, Dobrynin-!’

‘What! Saying you want to apologize is not the same as apologizing-’

‘You’re so fucking pretentious, you know that?’

The sharp edge to Nick’s voice made Vitali scoff and he sucked in a shallow breath, adrenaline rushing through his system until the hairs on his arms stood up straight. His body was bracing itself; not expecting a physical blow- even Nick knew better than to sink that low- simply another mental one, a blow to his ego he would carry with him into the next week until his next mistake would come along and take its place.

‘Maybe you’re right,’ Nick bluntly said and threw up his hands in exasperation. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t’ve come. You’re not making it very easy to be worried about you, you know that? And then one day when you do need the help I won’t be here. No one will.’

‘Right, because every time before today when you weren’t there for me by your own fucking choice, that could not have happened, of course,’ Vitali mockingly replied and gestured at the door. ‘You are just trying to cover for yourself now. Get out if you don’t have anything nice to say.’

‘I love you.’

The statement caught Vitali a little off guard and he slowly lowered his hands, standing unmoving as Nick walked closer to him and cupped his face in both hands, strands of Vitali’s long, bleached hair getting caught between his fingers.

‘I love you,’ he quietly repeated himself, thumbs running in circles over Vitali’s cheeks, ‘and I just wish you’d let me.’

Vitali’s eyes slowly moved over Nick’s face- the little marks covering his cheekbones, the acne scarring roughening the skin of his cheeks and jaw, the little bump in his nose caused by a broken bone that had not healed all too well-

He reminded him of Mikhail, sometimes.

But they were not the same.

‘I’ve given you enough chances and you walk away every single fucking time,’ Vitali quietly replied, moving up his hand to place it over Nick’s and he softly kissed his palm. ‘What do I need to do to make you stay?’

Nick couldn’t answer. And Vitali knew that.

Both of them had fucked up more than enough times; both had walked away before, justified, sometimes not, in the heat of the moment or when things just got a little too boring for their liking. They got annoyed about everything they were and fought about everything they were not and instead of talking things out like normal people they would get drunk, get naked, and pretend like nothing had happened the next day.

‘You’re complicated,’ Nick finally said, gently brushing some of Vitali’s hair out of his face.

‘So are you,’ Vitali merely replied, making a biting motion at Nick’s hand who in response cupped his face and leaned in closer to kiss him, a somewhat metallic taste to his lips Vitali could not quite place.

‘I love you,’ he mumbled into the kiss, slowly draping his arms over Nick’s shoulders and pulling him closer until there was no space left between their bodies. He broke the kiss and buried his face in the crook of Nick’s neck- and the other man reciprocated the hug, one hand on Vitali’s back and the other in his hair.

‘Have somethin’ to eat, take it easy today,’ he quietly said, slowly pulling back and fixing the collar of Vitali’s flannel. ‘I’ll see you again tomorrow, okay?’

‘Okay.’

The silences that followed were always the worst.

Watching Nick walk away again, leave through that very same door he had only just arrived through and wishing he would stop, come back inside, stay just a little longer. Whether Vitali had fucked it up for himself this time or not, he was no longer sure; it was impossible to tell what Nick’s true intentions were. Vitali usually was nothing more than a stopover to him.

And of course he wished it was different. If he could have it his way, Nick wasn’t such an asshole all the time. Wouldn’t just be using him for his own pleasure, wouldn’t just come and go as he pleased without taking Vitali’s feelings into account. And in return, Vitali wouldn’t have to return the attitude.

Had Nick even started it all? He wasn’t all that sure anymore.

Vitali scoffed at nobody in particular and walked through the room to the window, sitting himself down on the windowsill to stare outside. He was still cold, but it did not do anything to him anymore- his head was elsewhere, and the shivers running up and down his spine were the least of his worries.

At least I’ll see him again tomorrow.

At least he would always come back.

[eemoo1o-tfrmoo]

Your wip list looks so amazing omigosh!! Patriarchal chaos really stood out to me LMAO, if you feel comfortable with sharing it, do you wanna tell what's it about? :DDD

It’s a stand in title. And oh my god! Thanks!

It’s the one fic in the Untitled Snotlout and Hookfang series that I know I need to write but my brain won’t let me. (All fics in the [ ] are for that series.)

The premise is quite simple:

The twins ask Snotlout on a sunny day to get into their darkened hut (originally intended to be on Berk, but it could work just as much on the Edge) so they can sacrifice him to Loki.

They have everything ready, too. A purple pentagram painted on the floor; candles; a thin veil of mist shrouding the room—

Snotlout starts coughing. “Ugh, Thor—as much as I like the smell of Zippleback gas in the morning, Tuff, cut it out.”

—but that soon ends.

The door is also open for Snotlout to make reference to the sunny day, letting in some light into the dark room.

It starts innocently enough, just as a sacrifice to Loki.

But then, the conversation is the main plot point of the fic.

I can’t decide if this fic will have Snotlout nervous/worried to meet up with his father back on Berk (the next fic definitely will, with the fic after that being after the meet-up), or get nervous at the mention of his father, but his father does come up.

The twins mention that Fishlegs says that you can tell a lot by a person based off of what dragon they have. I assume Tuff will then add, “Yeah, that’s why mom and dad have a Zippleback just like us.” Or something to the same effect.

This then transcends into, “You’d think by that logic that Snotlout’s dad would have a Monstrous Nightmare, too, like Hookfang.”

(Optional statement:) “You’d think he’s more like Astrid, because he’s got a Deadly Nadder.”

(These lines of dialogue will most likely be reworded to fit the characters’ voices better.)

There will also be minor, background shipping. One sided Rufflout, preluding the dumb love-triangle in the second movie, and also discreet Tufflout*.

(*Snotlout is replacing, and Tuffnut only ever makes fun of Snotlout for liking his sister and not Snotlout and Fishlegs. They canonically want each other so bad.)

[storyofmychoices]

Since you write for multiple Choices stories, I'm curious: (how) do they all intertwine? Do your various MCs know each other? How do they get along? How did they meet? If any of your stories don't exist in the same universe, how would the characters get along if they did?

What a great question... now if only I had a proper answer 🙈

I think about this often. I'd love for them all to exist in one universe however, I already have two universes for Thomas and Alex (Hollywood U and Red Carpet Diaries) .

From there, I started with Ethan and Ellie, who through Love & Scotch exist in my Hollywood U universe.

So that leaves me with everyone else. (this is long, I'm so so sorry)

Initially, I was writing Olivia as MC (for like a week) so Ellie and Olivia were in different universes.... but I hated it. MCs personality and job and everything didn't fit Olivia. I had Olivia trying to be Ethan's intern while also being a pediatric specialist, which made no sense. So Olivia was rewritten as a full OC, which meant she could be in Ellie's universe but I had both Ellie and Olivia interacting with the fellow interns but never each other so it feel incongruous to put them together.

So that made me think that Olivia could be in the RCD universe, but in my RCD Alex has mentioned Ethan and Ellie even though my current Ethan and Ellie only exist in HWU. Alex mentions that much like her and Thomas who find each other in every universe, Ethan and Ellie do as well, which then puts me to trying to reconcile how Olivia and Ellie coexist. Even if my current Ellie is HWU only, I'd have to see how RCD universe Ellie is. I assume they'd be similar but not the same as Alex and Ellie wouldn't have the same relationship as their situations are not the same. Plus I'd HC that Ethan and Ellie get together before Alex and Thomas in the RCD universe.

BUT there is something else to consider... Danny!

In HWU universe, Ethan and Ellie's storyline follows Open Heart at least through the attack, so Danny died. However, in my RCD universe, I wrote Danny having moved to LA to have a cameo in a fic, so in my RCD universe, regardless of how Ethan and Ellie get together, their story will be different to some extent because Danny is already different.

Leaving this mess to the side for a minute.... some quick ones to rule out. I'm not trying to make fantasy meet reality so

Mal & Daenarya, Beckett & Emma, and Troy & Astraea are all in separate universes. (for now at least)

So that leaves Justin & Mari and  Levi & Laura

I always HC that Levi and Laura are in the same universe as Olivia and Bryce. I have a wip that may never get finished, but Levi does a benefit concert to help raise money for the pediatrics ward.

Justin... oh Justin, I haven't written him in ages, but I do adore him (despite all the hate and threats I got when I did write him). He could honestly be in any universe.

OOO Ben Park from LoveHacks! I forgot about him! Okay, so Ben Park (preLoveHacks) exists in my HWU universe and is featured in the #HollywoodHacks storyline.

Okay and there is Whiskey Business which is my one shot crossover with The Royal Romance. This exists in my HWU universe. This includes Liam x MC, Drake, Max, Bertrand, Olivia, etc

However in my RCD universe, Liam also exists and is a friend of Thomas as mentioned in Seducing Mr. Perfect. So I guess their friendship exists in every universe. (as does his and Drake's lack of friendship/arguments over proper scotch)

I think that's everyone in the Pixelberry Universe that I currently write for!

Now on how they get along...

HWU Alex and Ellie become very close and get along well. Alex is sometimes a lot for Ellie, but she endures it and Alex definitely convinces Ellie to step out of her comfort zone.

Olivia and Alex would both get along well. I think they could have a lot of fun together but also work together to raise money for a good cause. I'd love for Olivia to be the twin's pediatrician, but Boston to LA isn't really all that convienient.

Olivia and Ellie... I think they'd get along, but I don't see them as being close friends. They have very different personalities and they work in two different fields. They might have friends in common that bring them to the same events, but I don't really see them hanging out alone. They work together, they like each other, but nothing more. The attack changed Ellie (forever) and she is definitely more closed off than before. It has a permanent effect on her so she has a couple close friends but that's it. (maybe that's why I'm having trouble figuring out how they fit together in a universe.) But also this is Olivia and HWU!Ellie... I don't know if HWU!Ellie is identical to RCD!Ellie or if things are different. So maybe one day I'll start a new AU for Ethan and Ellie and explore how the two universes differ... maybe the attack is different in RCD universe which would mean Ellie would be different. Maybe her and Olivia could be closer.

Laura and Olivia would get along well. I actually have Laura going back to school to become a nurse. I'd love for Laura to be the nurse at Sunshine Pediatrics.I want to set MOTY in New England so that I could build the relationship between Laura and Levi with Olivia and Bryce. I do think these two couples would be fun to explore together.

Okay, I'll end my essay on my universes here since it's a lot.. .sorry about that. Let me know if you have any questions or things y ou are wondering about based on my TED talk here lol

Thank you for the ask!